


Spirit Keeper

by cowardlydragon



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Canon - Manga, Canon Related, Family, Fanfiction, Friendship, Gen, Minorshipping - Freeform, Not Romance, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-08-27 13:42:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 40,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8403877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cowardlydragon/pseuds/cowardlydragon
Summary: After living together for several months, Ryou and the Spirit of the Millennium Ring have gotten used to each other. But can they truly get along? (A collection of manga-based stories about Ryou's life after Duelist Kingdom in which the Spirit deceives Ryou instead of forcing him to wear the Ring. In other words, Bakura pretended to be a good guy. One-sided friendship RxB)





	1. Duelist Kingdom

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic, so uh, don't judge it too hard.

It was the second night of the Duelist Kingdom tournament, and Ryou was alone in his assigned room….except he wasn't really alone. He knew he ought to get some rest because he needed to watch Yugi and Jounouchi duel the next day, but first there was something he needed to come to terms with.

Earlier this evening, while he and his friends were in the Meiku brothers' labyrinth, he had put on the Ring again. Despite all common sense, he had put on the Ring again, and now he had to face the consequences.

" _You seem tense,"_ said a voice.

Ryou nearly jumped out of his skin. There it was again; that voice inside his head that sounded like his own voice talking aloud to him. He wasn't sure if he could get used to hearing it.

Taking a deep breath, Ryou willed himself to calm down. _"Thank you for helping us get out of the labyrinth,"_ he thought.

" _You're very welcome,"_ the voice said good-naturedly.

Ryou was torn between feeling intrigued and scared. Whoever it was that was taking to him could hear everything he was thinking. Yugi had mentioned that he and his other self could talk to each other through some sort of mind-link, so was this how it worked?

" _Are you…going to sink the Ring's prongs into my chest again?"_ Ryou asked fearfully. Now that he had put the Ring on, he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to get it off again.

" _Of course not! What do you take me for?_ " The voice sounded almost offended that Ryou would suggest such a thing. _"I told you, I've changed. You're free to take me off whenever you like."_

Upon hearing this, Ryou finally started to relax.

* * *

Later that night, Honda was sitting behind bars in Pegasus's dungeon. He had come down here in order to help Mokuba, but the guards had caught him and locked him up in prison. "Man, this sucks, he grumbled.

All of a sudden he heard someone's footsteps coming closer.

"Who's there?" Honda called out suspiciously.

Bakura came into view, brandishing a set of keys in the air. "Miss me?" he said between laughs, and he started to unlock the prison door.

"Bakura? Is that you?" Honda was surprised. After the doors were unlocked, he walked out of the prison and tried to get a closer look at his friend's face. "How did you get past the guards? And more importantly, how did you get the keys?"

Ryou blinked and looked down at the keys in his hand in surprise. "I got the keys?" He was confused at first, but then it dawned on him. "Oh! Right! I got the keys!"

"Are you feeling alright?" Honda questioned. He could have sworn that Ryou's face looked unusually sinister a few moments ago.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Let's go look for Mokuba!" Ryou said cheerfully.

"Well…okay." Honda was still suspicious, but time was slipping away. They only had a few hours left before dawn broke.

Honda started to walk down the corridor, but Bakura's voice suddenly called out, "You're never going to find him if you go that way. Follow me."

Honda was confused but decided to tag along. The dungeon was like an endless maze of twists and turns, and yet Bakura seemed to know exactly where he was going. They made a left turn, then a right, then straight, and then left again. At last, they found what they were looking for.

Mokuba's comatose body was chained against the walls in one of the prison cells. Bakura unlocked the cell and went inside to free the boy from the chains.

Honda was torn between feeling relieved and bewildered. "How did you know where to find him?" he questioned.

At first Ryou's expression was unreadable because half of his face was covered by his bangs. But when he looked up, his eyes were filled with joy. "We really did it! We found Mokuba!"

"Uh yeah…we sure did," Honda said confusedly, unsure if he had been imagining Ryou's strange behavior from earlier.

"Come on! Let's bring him upstairs."

Honda was still a little bit suspicious, but he decided not to act upon it. Getting Mokuba into a proper bed was more important at the moment, so he hoisted the small boy onto his back and began to follow Ryou out of the dungeon.

" _Thank you so much! Without your help, we never would've found him!"_ Ryou said into the mind-link.

" _It was no problem at all. I'm glad to be of service,"_ the voice said charmingly.

" _Who are you, exactly? Are you really just a different version of me?"_ Ryou said, for he realized that they had never properly introduced themselves to each other.

" _To be honest, I'm not entirely sure of that myself. Three thousand years of imprisonment can really cause you to lose a sense of identity. But you can know me as the Spirit of the Millennium Ring."_

" _You're been trapped in the Ring for that long!?"_ Ryou was shocked.

" _It's not that bad. I'm used to it."_

Ryou realized for the first time that the Spirit of the Ring wasn't a monster after all; he was just a poor defenseless human soul trapped inside a cursed artifact with no means of escaping. The least that Ryou could do was offer himself up for possession so that his new friend could get a little bit of freedom.

And that was all it took to earn Ryou's trust; just two simple acts of kindness. He was lonely anyway, and having a friend who was always glued to him sounded like an appealing idea. From that moment onward, Ryou was no longer afraid of wearing the Ring.


	2. School Life

On days like this, Ryou wished he were old enough to drive. Grocery shopping was hard work when you didn't have a car. Today, Ryou had purchased fifteen bags worth of groceries. It was quite a struggle for one person to carry it all home on foot.

Nevertheless, Ryou was in a happy mood today. And why's that? Because his father was finally coming home this evening! Ryou hadn't seen his father since a few days after they first moved into Domino City. How long was that ago? A couple of months, probably. Anyways, that was the reason he bought so many groceries. Now that his father was coming home, Ryou would need to cook twice as much food as usual. The two of them were going to have a very large and extravagant meal tonight, complete with miso soup, tempura, nikujaga, fried vegetables, and rice. It was going to be amazing.

Ryou was happily frying the vegetables when suddenly the phone rang. He turned the heat down and picked up the phone. "Hello?" he said.

"Ryou, it's me."

"Hi Dad! I'm in the middle of cooking. I should be finished in about an hour I think. What time are you coming home?"

"Listen, about that. I'm actually going on another trip."

"Another…w-wait, what?" Ryou's voice broke.

"I won't be back for another few days. A week at the most."

"But…but you promised!"

"I know, Ryou, I know, but this is too good of an opportunity to pass up! The Minister of Egyptian Archaeology contacted me. She's offering to donate two of her most valuable stone slabs to the Domino Art Museum. I absolutely _must_ go meet with her." Mr. Bakura's voice was full of excitement as he spoke. "Take care of yourself, alright? I'm getting on the plane now so I'll call back later."

The line went dead.

Ryou hung up the phone. Was it weird that he wasn't surprised anymore? This kind of thing happened all the time.

When he finished making dinner, he suddenly had an idea. He couldn't eat a meal with his father, but there was somebody else he could share it with.

After setting the table, he ate half a portion and then asked the Spirit of the Millennium Ring if he wanted to switch in to eat the other half. "This is highly unnecessary," the Spirit had said, but Ryou insisted.

"Since my father isn't coming home today, I figured I'd share it with you instead. I bet you don't get a lot of opportunities to eat, considering you don't have a body of your own. Go on, get out here and help yourself to whatever you like."

It was true that Bakura hadn't tasted solid food in a long time, and his host was admittedly a very good cook. Halfway through the meal, he threw down the chopsticks and started wolfing down the food straight from the plates and bowls, finding it more enjoyable to eat with his hands. It was a very satisfying dinner…except something was missing.

Bakura looked in all the kitchen cabinets but could not find what he was looking for. _Oh well,_ he thought. If his host didn't have any inside the apartment, Bakura would have to go outside and get it. He headed out to the grocery store, not bothering to bring any money or coat with him.

* * *

Ryou woke up the next morning feeling terrible. His head was spinning, his stomach was retching, his mouth was dry, and the sunlight was so bright that it gave him a headache.

"What on earth happened last night?" Ryou asked aloud, but there was no reply.

The only other time Ryou ever felt this sick was when he stayed up for three days straight playing an online computer game. The only thing he wanted to do right now was to curl up in bed and try to go back to sleep. But alas, it was Monday, so he had to go to school.

As usual, Ryou's fangirls were waiting for him at the school's front steps. "Bakura, you look terrible!" one of the girls said as he approached. Ryou barely acknowledged them and simply kept walking towards his classroom, hoping that they'd leave him alone. But as usual, they crowded around him and followed him through the halls.

"This is no good! Bakura's wonderful face has lost its perfection," said a second fangirl. "How am I going to get through my morning classes without his beauty to charge up my batteries?"

"Don't worry, I'll lend you some pictures I took of him last week," said a third fangirl.

"If you ask me, his sickly face is kind of cute. I want to savor this," said the first girl as she took out her phone to take some pictures.

"Please stop," Ryou said weakly, shielding his eyes as the phone's camera flashed a few times.

Ryou sighed. He wished he could call these girls his friends, but he knew they weren't. He could deal with the squealing and stalking, but he didn't particularly like it when they took pictures of him without his permission, or worse, touched his hair.

By now, Ryou had reached his destination. As soon as he entered the classroom, he ditched his fangirls and joined his real friends.

"Good morning Bakura!" Yugi said.

"Good morning, Yugi," said Ryou, almost tripping over his own feet as he sat down at his desk.

"Did you drink any alcohol last night Ryou?" Jounouchi asked.

"Of course not! I'm underaged!" said Ryou.

"Yeah, why would even you ask such a thing? Bakura's not the type of person to drink," said Anzu.

"Sorry, it's just that you look a whole lot like my old man when he wakes up from a hangover every other morning. But I'm probably just imaging it," said Jounouchi, scratching his head.

"He probably just stayed up all night again writing RPG stories," said Honda. "You need to stop doing that. It's bad for your health."

"Yeah, you almost look like a ghost with how pale you're getting," said Jounouchi.

"I read in a book once that pale skin is a sign that a ghost might be haunting you," Ryou said excitedly. He leaned forward closer towards Jounouchi with wide, innocent eyes and a creepy smile. "Do you also see any dark circles underneath my eyes? Or cracks in my skin? Because if so, there just might be a ghost –"

Jounouchi shrieked and recoiled away.

Ryou giggled lightly to himself. Messing with Jounouchi always fun.

After that, Yugi and Jounouchi started talking about Duel Monsters, but Ryou stopped listening to them.

 _A hangover?_ Ryou thought. _Is that why I'm feeling so sick? That spirit…_

The morning dragged on, and Ryou couldn't focus on anything the teacher was saying. When gym class rolled around, Ryou still wasn't feeling much better, so he decided to ask the gym teacher, Mr. Karita, if he could sit this class out.

"Yes, of course, Mr. Bakura sir!" said Mr. Karita, sweating nervously. "You deserve a break! Let me know if you need anything else."

Mr. Karita didn't exactly remember the time his soul was trapped in a lead figure, but he was still subconsciously afraid of Ryou. The other boys in the class glared at Ryou enviously, thinking it unfair that he got the day off while the rest of them were forced to run laps around the gym. However, none of them dared to do anything about it, for they were either too scared of the gym teacher, or too scared of Ryou. Or both. Normally, Ryou would be bothered by the fact that a large chunk of the school still feared him, but today he was just relieved that he didn't have to do any exercise.

* * *

That afternoon, while all of the other students were going home or heading to their extracurricular activities, Anzu walked alone down to a teacher's office and knocked.

"Come in," said a voice from inside.

"You wanted to see me, Ms. Chono?" Anzu said, entering the room.

"Yes, pull up a seat and sit down," said Ms. Chono, who was seated at her desk, dabbing make-up on her face.

Anzu did as she was told, feeling intensely nervous. _This is it, I'm going to be expelled_ , Anzu thought to herself. Somebody must have found out about all the after-school jobs Anzu had been working. Usually, students would be suspended for that, but Ms. Chono was notorious for her habit of expelling students who broke the most trivial of school rules. She was known as the Wicked Witch of Expelling for good reason.

A couple of minutes passed in silence, Anzu fidgeting in her seat and Ms. Chono putting on make-up. Finally, Ms. Chono appeared to be satisfied with her appearance. She put away her make-up and said with her voice tinged with sugary sweetness, "So, Ms. Anzu Mazaki."

"YES!" Anzu squeaked, straightening up in her seat.

"You're a nice girl. Good grades, good social standing with all of the teachers and students. You're friends with Mutou Yugi, correct?" Ms. Chono said.

"Yeah?" Anzu said, a little apprehensive.

"I would like to get to know you more. As fellow women, we should help each other. Tell me, is there something you're interested in? Perhaps it's jewelry, or make-up, or a handsome young man you've got your eye on? I can give you hella good tips on dating."

"I'm alright, ma'am. Thank you but – "

"Hold on just a moment." Ms. Chono picked up her make-up again and started dabbing powder furiously onto her face. "It just never stays on properly," she muttered angrily. A few more moments passed before she finished with the make-up and composed herself. Clearing her voice, she smiled pleasantly and said, "Now, where were we? Ah yes, we're talking about your interests. Do you have any personal hobbies you'd like to share?"

"Well, um, I enjoy dancing. It's my dream to be a dancer, actually."

Ms. Chono clapped her hands together joyously. "Perfect! What do you say I hook you up with a dance internship of some sort? I have plenty of connections. I can even persuade the vice principle to give you the semester off."

"Really? You mean it?" Anzu said, growing excited.

Ms. Chono nodded gleefully.

Anzu frowned – deep in her gut she could feel something fishy going on. "Wait, why are you doing this?" she asked.

"I just want to be your friend. Is that so hard to believe?" Ms. Chono said, blinking her long eyelashes innocently.

"There's a catch, isn't there," Anzu stated as a fact.

"Ah, yes, but nothing too big for you to handle. You know that pendant hanging around Yugi's neck? I want you to ask him if you could borrow it. If he says no, just take it from him when his guard's down and then bring it to me."

"Never."

"WHAt did you just say to me, young lady?" Ms. Chono said, barely masking her temper.

"My answer is no. I'm not going to betray my best friend no matter what you offer me," Anzu said with determination.

"Why are you even friends with Yugi anyway? And those other three boys as well. Why do you bother with any of them? The only reason they cling to one another is because they all come from abusive or neglectful households, but your family is normal. You're too good for them. You should find other, better friends who are more like you."

"How do you know any of that?! It's none of your business!" Anzu shouted angrily. "A teacher shouldn't pry in on a student's family life! It's unbelievably invasive!"

"I am TRYING to reach an understanding!" Ms. Chono screamed, slamming her fist her the desk. "Do you know what Yugi and his slimy little friends did to me? Look at my face! _Look_ at it!" Ms. Chono pointed to her face where the make-up was already peeling off in large chunks. "They ruined my life! I can't go three minutes without having to re-apply my make-up. _Three. Fucking. Minutes._ I don't know how they did it, but I know the pendant's involved. I NEED that pendant! I have to change everything back! And then, I'll get revenge!"

"From what I've heard, everything's your fault. You started this whole mess, and you got what you deserved," Anzu said, standing up and pushing her chair back where it was before. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm outta here."

"You'll pay! You'll all pay! You'll regret having trifled with me! I'll get you for this, each and every last one of you!"

"Have a good evening, Madam," Anzu said stiffly as she shut the door behind her on her way out of the office.


	3. Otogi Ryuji

The Millennium Ring had the power to sense bad omens, and right now it was saying that Yugi was in trouble. Ryou paced up and down the sidewalk outside the Black Crown game shop, trying to decide what to do. He wanted desperately to go inside and help Yugi, but the shop was closed.

"If worst comes to worst, I'll take over and force my way inside the building," said the Ring Spirit. "But I doubt it'll come to that. Yugi's probably just playing a game with someone who's after the Millennium Puzzle again. He'll be fine."

Ryou nodded. "Right. I need to have faith in him."

Ryou continued to stand outside the game shop, waiting for his friend to come out safely. There was no reason to worry, right? Yugi's other self had stood up to many life-threatening challenges before. He never lost a game.

Then, around an hour later, one of the Millennium Ring's prongs began to point towards the shop. Ryou didn't know what it meant, but the Spirit sure did; something was happening to the Millennium Puzzle.

The Ring Spirit promptly took control of Ryou's body. "Che, what a troublesome king," he said, and then he broke into the building.

Ryou wasn't conscious to see what the Spirit did to help Yugi, but whatever it was, it seemed effective. When Ryou woke up again, the game was over, and all the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle were safely back in Yugi's hands.

But then Ryuji's father kidnapped Yugi, trapped him behind a hidden door, and accidentally set the building on fire. Thankfully, it all worked out in the end because Jounouchi saved Yugi from the burning building and they both went to the hospital. Jounouchi's burns weren't severe enough to cause him to miss school, but Yugi had to stay overnight at the hospital for a few days. His friends came to visit him as often as they could. Even Ryuji showed up to apologize for all the trouble he caused.

Everyone, including Yugi's other self, forgave Ryuji quite easily and befriended him. Ryuji was happy, but confused.

"I tried to take your Millennium Puzzle. In fact, I dedicated my entire life to it. How can you forgive me just like that?" Ryuji said.

"It wasn't your fault. Don't worry about it, okay? Let's just be friends from now on," Yugi said.

"Yugi…thank you," Ryuji breathed, voice caught in his throat. He didn't know what he was feeling. Hopeful? Lost? Perhaps a mixture of both. A large burden had been removed from his shoulders. But at the same time, his entire life's meaning had changed, and he had lost direction.

"How's your father doing?" Anzu asked.

"All things considered, he's doing pretty well," said Ryuji, smiling. "For years, I've been telling him to let go of his lust for revenge, and now he finally has after meeting Yugi and seeing how kind he actually is. I think, for the first time in my life, we might become a proper family."

"That's good to hear!" said Ryou.

Ryuji nodded. For a moment, Yugi and Ryuji looked at each other, smiling. Then Ryuji got embarrassed and looked away.

"So, are you going to rebuild the Black Crown?" Yugi asked nervously.

Ryuji paused for a moment and then shook his head. "The only reason my father and I went into the gaming business was to get revenge against Yugi's grandpa. I don't think either of us want to rebuild the game shop, considering all the horrible things that happened in there. Besides, I don't want to take business away from  _your_  game shop, Yugi."

Yugi nodded, relieved.

"So then what are you going to do from now on?" Honda asked.

"I don't know yet. I've never actually thought about what I'd do if the revenge plan didn't work out," said Ryuji.

"You're free now. You can do whatever you want," said Jounouchi.

"Yeah!" said Ryou. "I could show you how to play tabletop RPGs."

"I think he was talking about careers, not hobbies," Honda said, slapping a palm to his forehead.

"Oh," Ryou fell silent. "Well, uh. Maybe you could try…cooking?"

"Cooking?" said Ryuji.

"Ryou, that's a stupid idea," said Jounouchi. "Men don't – "

"Cooking sounds like fun! Maybe I'll open up a restaurant," Ryuji said, deep in thought. "Or maybe a café. I always did like visiting cafés."

"You were saying?" Anzu smirked teasingly at Jounouchi. "Men don't what?"

Jounouchi grumbled to himself, but then recovered. "Yeah, cooking's a great idea! Let's try that," he smiled with forced enthusiasm.

After that, the friends joked and laughed together as they bonded over stories of their past while Jounouchi and Yugi played Duel Monsters. They recounted their adventures together in Duelist Kingdom, filling Ryuji in on all the details. Eventually Honda needed to go home and take Blankey for a walk, Anzu had to go to work, and Jounouchi went to fetch drinks. That meant Yugi, Ryuji, and Ryou finally had time to talk about what happened at the Black Crown the other day.

"So Yugi, do all people with Millennium Items develop a split personality, or is it just you?" Ryuji asked.

"Well, Pegasus didn't have a split personality, so I doubt that all people with Items have one," said Yugi.

" _Then what about Bakura?"_  Ryuji whispered, soft enough so that only Yugi could hear.

They both glanced over at where Ryou was sitting, staring off into space, completely zoned out. It took him a few seconds to realize that his friends were staring at him. Blinking innocently a few times, he smiled and waved.

" _He's got one, technically, but we don't talk about it often."_  Yugi whispered back.

"What are you whispering about?" Ryou asked.

Yugi hesitated, then gathered his courage and said, "Bakura, are you wearing the Ring again?"

Ryou became nervous. "Did you tell the others?"

"Not yet," said Yugi. "I haven't even told my other self. But the question is, should I?"

"I don't think any of them will take it well if they knew," said Ryou.

"Did something bad happen in the past regarding Bakura's other personality?" Ryuji asked, trying to follow the conversation.

"I don't really consider him my other personality. To me, he's just a spirit who resides in the Millennium Ring," Ryou said.

"He trapped our souls into figurines and forced us to play a game with him for the possession of my Millennium Puzzle," said Yugi.

"So he's kind of like me, except for the thing about the figurines," Ryuji said.

"He trapped many other people into figurines too, including my friends from my previous school and all the people who bullied me. They ended up in comas for a while," said Ryou.

"That explains the strange rumors surrounding you," Ryuji mused.

"But he's changed," Ryou insisted. "Please believe me, Yugi, he's changed for the better. I think he can really help us in times of trouble."

Yugi nodded. "Yeah. He helped me a lot during that game of D.D.D. I think we can trust him, for now."

Ryou smiled, relieved. "And let's keep this a secret from the others, okay? It's easier than having to explain everything."

Yugi nodded.

"Ryuji, don't tell the others that I'm wearing the Ring, okay?" Ryou said.

"If that's what you want, sure," said Ryuji.

Jounouchi suddenly burst in through the door. "Sorry it took me so long! There was some other guy who was holding up the line," he said, handing Yugi a soda.

"Thanks, Jounouchi," Yugi said.

"So, are you ready to play another round of Duel Monsters?" said Jounouchi.

"You bet!" said Yugi reaching for his deck.

"Get ready, because I'm totally going to win this time!" said Jounouchi.

"I doubt it," Ryuji muttered.

"Hey! I heard that!" said Jounouchi.

They all broke out into laughter at Jounouchi's expense. Before starting the game, Yugi briefly made eye contact with Ryou and winked.


	4. Battle City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I was only going to write Ryou's point of view, but a friend told me it was too confusing so I added summaries of what was happening around him.
> 
> Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Battle City tournament only lasted for 2 days overall? That's what I gathered from reading the manga. Also the Duelist Kingdom tournament only lasted for 3 days I think.
> 
> Please note that I was relying on the free online manga scanslations rather than the official manga translations.

Ryou's POV

It was the first day of the Battle City tournament, and Jounouchi had recently defeated Insector Haga in a duel. Anzu, Ryou, and Yugi's Grandpa had been standing in the sidelines, watching the entire duel. After Jounouchi won, they all cheered and applauded.

 _He's so cool_ , Ryou thought.

After the newly won locator cards and Insect Queen were in Jounouchi's hands, they all started to walk down the street together in search of another opponent. But all of a sudden, Ryou felt one of the Millennium Ring's prongs moving on its own against his chest. He halted in his steps and turned around to look in the direction that the prong seemed to be pointing at.

"Hey Bakura! What's the matter?" Anzu said.

"Oh…sorry." Ryou blushed. In his distraction, he had failed to notice that he had fallen behind from the rest of the group. He quickly ran to catch up with them.

While Jounouchi, Anzu, and Yugi's Grandpa began having a conversation with one another, Ryou began chatting with the Spirit of the Millennium Ring through their mind-link.

" _A new Millennium Item has appeared. Let's go check it out,"_ the Spirit's voice echoed inside Ryou's head.

" _But what about the others?"_ Ryou said into the mind-link.

" _You can just pretend that you got distracted and accidentally wandered off,"_ said the Spirit. This was something that Ryou did all the time, and his friends would not be surprised by it.

Ryou considered his options. A part of him wanted to watch Jounouchi duel some more, but the Millennium Items were more important. _"Well, alright. But before we go, let me screw with Jounouchi one last time."_

Ryou began talking out loud to join in on his friends' conversation. "You know what's funny, Jounouchi? You've won a lot of rare cards, like Jinzo and Insect Queen, but they're all weird and scary!"

Jounouchi cringed. "Shut up! It's not like I wanted them!"

"Actually, I like them! I love grotesque cards! I wish I had them in my deck!," Ryou said cheerfully.

"Huh? You have a deck too?" Jounouchi looked surprised.

"Yeah!" Ryou took out his deck and brandished it in the air. "See? It's an occult-themed deck!"

"Ugh…o-occult!? I'm definitely not dueling you!"

"Don't be so afraid!"

Afterwards, Jounouchi stopped paying attention to Ryou and activated his Duel Disk's search sensor. As he ran off in search of an opponent, Anzu and Yugi's Grandpa ran after him, and this time none of them noticed that Ryou wasn't following them.

After his friends were out of sight, Ryou doubled over in a fit of giggles. Jounouchi's reaction had been priceless!

" _Are you done?"_ The Spirit said, growing impatient.

Ryou wiped away a tear and finally managed to stop laughing. _"Yeah, sorry. You can take over now."_

* * *

General POV

Once Dark Bakura took over, he stole a Duel Disk and followed the direction of the Ring's prong until he located the Millennium Rod and met Malik for the first time. Although they distrusted one another, they discovered that their interests coincided, so they started working together.

They struck a deal: Bakura would help Malik obtain the God Cards and kill Yugi in exchange for the Millennium Rod and for information on how to open the Door of Darkness. To do that, they devised up a plan.

"If you want to hurt Yugi, the easiest way is to go through his friends," Bakura said. He had been using his host for that very purpose.

"I know. I already plan to use them. That's why I've got this Millennium Rod," said Malik annoyedly. In fact he had just been about to brainwash Jounouchi and Anzu right before Bakura had showed up.

"Their bond is strong. They'll know instantly that you're up to no good. If you want to get close enough to brainwash them without raising suspicion, the best way is to…" Bakura smirked, "pretend to be friends with them." He had been doing this exact thing to his host ever since the Duelist Kingdom tournament.

"Oh?" Malik was intrigued. This was an idea that he never would've come up with on his own.

"I'm going to enter the tournament to help you keep an eye on Yugi. Most of his companions distrust me, but I have a convenient hiding place: my host. Maybe that could prove useful? I can use him to help you gain their trust," Bakura said with a devious smile.

"'Host,' eh?" Malik was amused. What an unusual term to call a vessel. "And how will you do that?"

"My answer is this." Bakura took out a knife and licked it. "I'll inflict an injury on my host. You can pretend you found him lying in the street. When you deliver him to his companions, they'll trust you immediately."

Bakura cut himself on the arm and laughed maniacally. The pain was sweet and delicious; it fueled his fire and made him feel alive. He threw the knife into the ocean and said, "I'll lend you my host." Then he went back into the Ring and the human boy came out, falling to the floor.

Malik touched the Rod against the boy to take control of his mind. Next, Malik used the sharp edge of the Rod to tear up the boy's jacket and created a makeshift bandage for the bleeding arm. Then finally, he went to deliver the boy to his friends.

* * *

Ryou's POV

When Ryou woke up, he was in pain. Horrible, unbearable pain.

"Hang in there! Are you okay?" said an unfamiliar voice. There was a stranger holding Ryou up by the shoulders, helping him walk. Ryou tried to speak, but all he could manage was a groan. Anzu and Jounouchi, who just happened to be standing nearby, caught sight of Ryou and were completely shocked.

"What happened to him? He's cut!" Anzu said.

"Bakura, man! Listen to me! Who did this to you?" Jounouchi was saying.

"Jounouchi…" Ryou could barely get his voice to work. "I-I don't know. I don't remember."

Ryou's mind was so clouded that he couldn't think straight. His arm was bleeding profusely, and he hadn't felt this much pain since the time when the Spirit had impaled his hand on a plastic tower.

Two hostile men arrived at the scene and seemed to be angry with Ryou. "Thanks for stealing my Duel Disk!" one of them said.

"Y-your Duel Disk?" When Ryou looked down at his injured arm, he realized for the first time since he woke up that a Duel Disk was strapped to it. "How did I…? I don't know how it got here…"

The men didn't believe him. "Yeah right. Just give it back." They began marching closer, getting ready to attack.

"Stop it! He's hurt!" The first stranger, the Egyptian-looking one who had helped Ryou find his friends, stood in the way and got punched in the face in the process.

 _What a kind person_ , Ryou thought. They didn't even know each other, and yet this new friend was making such a huge effort to help. Ryou would have to ask for his name and thank him properly when this was all over.

After Jounouchi beat up the two men, Yugi's Grandpa hailed a cab and took Ryou to the hospital.

* * *

Once the boy and the old man were out of the way, Malik pretended to make friends with Anzu and Jounouchi and used the Rod to brainwash them. He forced Jounouchi and Yugi to go up against each other in a duel, but it didn't work because Jounouchi broke free from the mind-control by sheer force of will.

* * *

While riding in the cab on the way to the hospital, Ryou finally got a chance to ask the Spirit, _"What happened?"_

The Spirit answered, _"There's a dangerous man with a Millennium Item who's running around Domino City causing mayhem. He wants to kill Yugi."_

Ryou's eyes widened with alarm. _"Is it because he wants to steal the Millennium Puzzle?"_

" _No, he doesn't care about the Puzzle. All he wants is Yugi's life."_

" _But why!?"_

" _I don't know his reasons,"_ the Spirit told the truth.

Ryou began to feel anxious. Dozens of people have wanted to steal Yugi's Puzzle before, but it was unusual for somebody to want to kill him. What could Yugi have possibly done to deserve so much hate?

" _Who is he?"_ Ryou asked.

" _I don't know what he looks like, but his name is Malik. He's got the Millennium Rod, which has the power to control peoples' minds."_

Ryou's anxiety was increasing, and it was making his arm hurt more and more.

The Spirit began telling a story. _"We were attacked by a large group of men who were under Malik's mind-control. They surrounded us and forced me to duel them. I won, but Malik got mad and ordered his men to kill us. I managed to fight them off, but not before one of them stabbed us with a knife."_

" _So that's how we got the arm injury,"_ Ryou mused.

Once they arrived at the hospital, Yugi's Grandpa helped Ryou walk inside, and they obtained a first-aid kid.

While his arm was being bandaged up, Ryou suddenly remembered the two men who had been angry with him earlier. _"Why did those guys think we took their Duel Disk from them?"_ he asked.

" _Now that they've been freed from Malik's mind-control, they don't remember putting the Duel Disk on my arm. They think I stole it from them,"_ the Spirit said without skipping a beat.

" _We have to find a way to give it back to them after this is all over,"_ Ryou mused.

As each second ticked by, Ryou felt himself growing weaker and weaker. He desperately wanted to lie down and rest.

Yugi's Grandpa finished bandaging up Ryou's arm. "There you go. Now wait here as I check you into the hospital," he said, and he turned his back on Ryou.

The Spirit saw his opportunity and took it. _"Why don't you let me take over? I respond to pain better than you do,"_ he offered.

" _Yes please. Thank you, Spirit."_ Ryou had never been so eager to relinquish control of his body.

* * *

General POV

Dark Bakura slipped out of the hospital before anyone noticed, won six locator cards from random people (whom he sent to the Shadow Realm afterwards), and entered the Battle City finals.

Malik showed up at the finals and introduced himself to Yugi, pretending to be a friend. "Hello, I'm Namu! Nice to meet you!" he said, holding out his hand for a handshake. Yugi took the hand and shook it. Then Rishid showed up and made everyone think that he was Malik.

At long last, it was time for the Battle City finals to begin. Round 1: Ryou Bakura vs. Yugi Mutou

Dark Bakura and Dark Yugi stood face-to-face on the roof of the airship and stared each other down. "Yugi…there's only one reason I entered this tournament! I want your God Card!" Bakura said right before the duel began. Dark Yugi was confused about Dark Bakura's motivations but made no comment.

At first Bakura was winning, but then Dark Yugi summoned Slifer. And that's when Malik stepped in. By using the power of the Millennium Rod, Malik brought the real Ryou back out, and everyone watched in stunned silence as the boy fell to the floor, crying out in pain.

* * *

Ryou's POV

When Ryou woke up, he was in more agony than he had ever been in his entire life.

"My arm…it hurts."

He sank down to his knees and gasped for breath. His body was so cold that his hands were completely numb. Frigid, icy wind was whipping at his face and stabbing at his arm, intensifying the throb of the injury.

"Bakura!" Dark Yugi shouted worriedly.

When Ryou looked up, noticed he was in the middle of a duel. "Yugi? Where am I? Why am I…?"

He didn't understand what was happening. Wasn't he supposed to be in the hospital? None of this made any sense. Apparently the Spirit had been dueling Yugi, but he didn't understand why.

" _Spirit…where are you…?"_

Usually when Ryou talked to the Spirit, he immediately got an answer. But this time there was no response.

" _Spirit, please…it hurts…"_

The Ring remained silent. He couldn't understand why the Spirit wasn't speaking to him.

Since his other self wasn't responding, Ryou pleaded aloud to Yugi's other self instead. "Yugi…it really hurts. Please…"

Although Dark Yugi seemed to be worried, he didn't make a move to help, and Ryou was forced to endure for several more agonizing minutes.

" _Please, Spirit…if you can hear me, please,_ please _retake control. I don't think I can bear this for much longer..."_

* * *

General POV

"As you can see, that boy is badly wounded. An attack from the Sky Dragon will grant you victory…but the shock could very well take that boy's life," Rishid said while pretending to be Malik.

 _You're using Bakura's life as a shield?!_ Dark Yugi thought. _Why you filthy–_

"Continue the battle, Yugi!" said the referee. "Players may only have five minutes to think on each turn! You have thirty seconds left!"

Dark Yugi was at a stalemate. If he attacked, his friend would die, but he didn't attack, he would lose the duel. He didn't know what to do.

Dark Bakura watched the duel with a look of disapproval. "So that's your game, Malik. You've tired Yugi's hands."

"As per our agreement," Malik said with a grin. He was quite proud of himself for coming up with this idea.

" _Please, Spirit…it hurts…please…"_

As he listened to his host's constant pleading, Bakura grew angrier and angrier by the second. "Even I have ways I like and dislike to win. Stay out of this Malik!" he shouted, and he retook control.

Dark Bakura stood up again and allowed Yugi to win the duel. "Yugi! I'll let you win this round! Attack me!" he said. If Ryou died, Bakura would die too. He needed his host to stay alive until he opened the opened the Door of Darkness. Also, Bakura just really, _really_ wanted to be hit with a God Card. "Do it Yugi!" he begged, his eyes growing wild with excitement.

"You asked for it!" Dark Yugi said. "Go! Slifter! Thunder Force!"

Slifer unleashed a huge wave of energy from its mouth, and Bakura laughed manically as he relished in the pleasure of the attack. Oh what sweet, sweet delicious pain! He hadn't had this much fun in three millennia.

The attack caused the Millennium Ring to go flying off into the air, and Ryou gained possession of his body again and fell to the ground. The boy was carried inside and put into a hospital bed. Then Malik took control of Anzu's mind and made her put the Ring back on Ryou.

* * *

Ryou's POV

As Ryou's body was resting in the hospital bed, Ryou and the Spirit stood face-to-face in the hallway that connected their soulrooms, each of them positioned in front of his own door. Fuming with anger, Ryou went off on a tangent. "What in the world were you thinking!? You were supposed to stay in the hospital! We're injured for goodness sake! We're in no condition to go running around entering a tournament!" He didn't often show this side of his personality, but he had just endured one of the most traumatizing experiences of his life, and he was righteously furious.

The Spirit knew exactly what to say to make Ryou calm down. "Malik is trying to kill Yugi! Are you really willing to lie around and do nothing while your friend's life is in danger?"

Ryou was rendered silent.

"Didn't think so," the Spirit had won the argument.

"How was entering the tournament supposed to help Yugi?" Ryou questioned. He wasn't angry anymore, but he was still confused by the Spirit's actions.

"It was part of my plan to defeat Malik. I teamed up with him," the Spirit explained.

Ryou blinked, unable to process what he had heard. "You tried to defeat Malik by teaming up with him…?" It didn't make any sense.

"We struck a deal: I would give him the God Cards in exchange for the Millennium Rod. Then we'd able to give the Rod to Yugi. That's why I entered the Battle City tournament. I needed to duel Yugi and Kaiba for their God Cards."

"Oh, I see." Ryou nodded in understanding.

"It was very easy for me to gain Malik's trust. Most of your friends already think I'm evil."

"Yeah…" Ryou sighed. He was still trying to find a way to convince everybody that the Spirit was on the side of good.

"After the Rod was safely in our hands, I was planning to steal the God Cards back from Malik before he had a chance to use them," the Spirit finished.

Ryou narrowed his eyes disapprovingly. "Stealing is wrong, Spirit…"

"Malik is evil, so it's okay to steal from him," the Spirit reasoned.

"I don't know about that…"

"Are you doubting me?"

Ryou immediately felt guilty. "No! It's not that! It's just…although you have good intentions, I find your methods somewhat questionable."

"It doesn't matter what my methods are as long as the ends justify the means. Might I remind you that your friends' lives are at stake? You should be more worried about them."

"Ah…yes. You're right, I'm sorry."

Dark Bakura smiled to himself. His host was so incredibly easy to guilt-trip.

"How was the duel with Yugi? Did you use the strategy I came up with?" Ryou asked.

"Yes I did, and it worked very well. It was a brilliant strategy."

Ryou beamed. It wasn't often that the Spirit gave praise.

"Did you win?" Ryou asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately no," the Spirit grunted. "I was about to, but then Yugi brought out his God Card and the possession didn't work on it."

"Aww…" Ryou was disappointed. It had taken him weeks to perfect that strategy, and the one time it got used, it ended up being a loss. But he didn't let himself feel too bad about it. After all, Yugi was a strong duelist.

"What happened in the middle of it though? Why had I been conscious?" Ryou suddenly wondered.

"It wasn't me who did that. It was Malik," the Spirit told the truth. "Yugi was about to win by hitting me with an attack from his God Card, but then Malik had the idea of bringing you out in order to dissuade Yugi from going through with it. Your mind is less resilient than mine, and the shock of the attack might've taken your life."

Ryou took a second to process it. When it finally sank in, he opened his mouth in horror. "He used my life as a shield...!"

The Spirit nodded gravely. "After that, I retook control and allowed Yugi to attack me. It cost me the duel, but at least you're safe."

Ryou was touched. "Thank you for worrying about me, but I don't think Yugi would've attacked me anyway."

"I couldn't risk it," the Spirit admitted.

Ryou smiled. It was nice to know that the Spirit cared so much.

"So what does Malik look like? Who is he, really?" Ryou said after a pause.

"You remember that guy who helped you find your friends when you woke up the first time?"

Ryou nodded.

"As it turns out, that _was_ Malik. He was only using you as a means to get close enough to Jounouchi and Anzu to take control of them," the Spirit said

"Oh my…" Ryou was shocked. Many different kinds of villains had challenged Yugi in the past, but Ryou couldn't think of anyone who pretended to be one of the good guys.

“That's why I snuck out of the hospital. When I found out about what Malik was doing, I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing.” 

Ryou felt grateful. “I’m sorry I doubted you earlier. Thank you for trying so hard to save them.”

* * *

General POV

Round 2: Jounouchi vs. Rishid (who was still pretending to be Malik).

During the course of the duel, Jounouchi started to doubt that Rishid was actually Malik. It was because Rishid's dueling tactics were too "nice," whereas Malik's tactics were cheap and underhanded. Therefore, Malik ordered Rishid to summon the fake God Card and use it against Jounouchi. Rishid had been reluctant, but he obeyed in the end.

Unfortunately the real God Card got mad and attacked both Jounouchi and Rishid, and both of the duelists fell to the ground unconscious. Jounouchi somehow managed to stand up again before five minutes were up, but Rishid ended up being hospitalized.

Winner: Jounouchi

When Malik saw his brother being hurt, he had a panic attack and started remembering things from his traumatizing childhood. As a result, his dark personality took over his body.

The first thing that Dark Malik tried to do after gaining control was go into the hospital room and try to kill Rishid. However he got chosen to participate in the third round of the tournament, so he decided to put off killing Rishid until after the duel.

Round 3: Mai vs. Dark Malik

Winner: Dark Malik

After Mai lost the duel, Dark Malik gave her a penalty game, and she fell into a coma until the end of the tournament. Then he watched Ishizu duel with Kaiba.

Round 4: Kaiba vs. Ishizu

Ishizu was about to kill Kaiba by hitting him with his own God Card's attack. Out of all the possible futures that the Millennium Necklace showed her, this was the only way to win the duel so that she could proceed to the next round and save her brother Malik's life. However, Kaiba changed his mind about using the God Card at the last moment and used his Blue Eyes instead, and the future was changed.

Winner: Kaiba

Ishizu realized that she shouldn't rely so much on the Millennium Necklace's guidance, so she gave it to the Pharaoh.

After he had finished watching the duel, Dark Malik went back into the ship, planning to kill Rishid.

* * *

Ryou's POV

During the middle of the night, Ryou welcomed the Spirit into his soulroom and gave a tour. Ryou had never shown his room to the Spirit before. Their present situation was rather gloomy, but they might as well make the best of it and take the time to bond with one another.

"I would prefer for you to put on a jacket before going outside," Ryou was saying. "It was freezing out there on the roof. What happened to the blue one I had on before?"

"Malik tore it up and used it as a bandage for you arm," the Spirit said.

Ryou groaned. That had been his favorite jacket. What a waste.

"Still, that's no excuse for going outside in only a short-sleeved shirt," Ryou scolded. "Even if you didn't have a jacket, there are other things you could've done. You could have wrapped yourself up in a blanket."

The Spirit grimaced. "Don't be absurd. Do you have any idea how silly I'd look if I went out there wearing a blanket? It'd be an insult to my pride as a Duelist."

"What good is Duelist's pride when it puts you in agony?" Ryou argued. "I don't understand how you're able to endure so much pain."

"I don't endure it; I relish it. Pain is a very good source of energy," the Spirit explained.

Ryou froze when it registered in his head. "You… _enjoy_ being in pain?"

"Quite a whole lot," the Spirit said proudly.

Ryou was beginning to feel a little bit disturbed.

All of a sudden, Malik wildly swung the door to Ryou's soulroom wide open and barged inside. The two Bakuras, who had been standing in the middle of the room talking to one another, both turned to look at Malik in surprise.

"Please! You have to help me save my brother!" Malik said desperately.

He quickly explained what had happened. He told them about his abusive childhood and the alternate ego he had accidentally created as a result of it. His dark personality had taken complete control of his body and was running around the ship causing havoc, and his brother Rishid's life was in danger. He also explained the reason why he had wanted to kill Yugi; he thought that Yugi had killed his father, but in fact it had been his own dark personality's doing all along.

Ryou put a hand on Malik's shoulder to comfort him. "Don't worry! We'll help you save your brother!"

"But there's a price. You remember our agreement from earlier…?" the Spirit said.

"Oh…right…you have to give us your Millennium Rod afterwards," Ryou agreed. He felt guilty about adding the ultimatum, but truthfully he wanted to gather all of the Items just as much as the Spirit did.

"It's a deal," Malik understood. He would have to hand over the Millennium Rod _and_ the information about the Door of Darkness in exchange for Dark Bakura's assistance.

"Okay, I'm going outside," the Spirit said.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Ryou offered.

"Stay inside the Ring," the Spirit ordered. "You'll just get in the way if you try to do anything."

"Ah…yes…sure thing," Ryou said meekly. His lack of self-esteem prevented him from protesting. He gave the Spirit a trusting smile. "Go on Spirit! I know you can do it! I'm rooting for you!"

Thus, Dark Bakura took possession of his host's body again, and Malik appeared in transparent form beside him. Once the boy was completely unconscious, Malik shot Bakura a questioning look.

"What sort of lies have you been telling him to make him trust you so much?" Malik said, beginning to feel disturbed.

Bakura simply smiled.

* * *

General POV

In the hospital room, Dark Malik was right about to kill Rishid, but Dark Bakura showed up and stopped him. Both Darknesses went up against each other in a duel, but Bakura lost, and he and his host were both sent to the Shadow Realm until the tournament was over. Dark Malik picked up the Millennium Ring and put it on.

Malik had been sent to the Shadow Realm too, but a piece of his soul had been implanted inside Anzu's mind, so he borrowed her body to communicate with Ishizu. Therefore they were able to hide Rishid's body before Dark Malik killed him.

And thus the crazy night was over.

* * *

The tournament continued on to the second day and took place on a giant tower.

Round 5: Jounouchi vs. Dark Malik. Jounouchi got hit with a God Card and died.

Winner: Dark Malik

Round 6: Dark Yugi vs. Kaiba. This time neither of them used a God Card to attack the other, and nobody was hospitalized.

Winner: Dark Yugi

After the round was over, the possession of Obelisk got transferred from Kaiba to Yugi, and Jounouchi came back from the dead.

Round 7: Dark Yugi vs. Dark Malik

During the course of the final duel, Rishid finally woke up and made his way into the top of the tower where he gave Malik an uplifting speech. Thus, Malik gained the will to live again and banished his dark side to the Shadow Realm.

Winner: Dark Yugi

The Battle City tournament had ended. Mai woke up from her coma, Ryou's body returned to the real world, and the Spirit returned to the Millennium Ring.

The three Ishtar siblings reconciled with one another and decided to begin a new life together as a family. After apologizing for his actions, Malik showed everyone the ancient engravings on his back and told the Pharaoh how to regain his memories. Afterwards he gave both the Rod and Ring to the Pharaoh.

Bakura was mad about being double-crossed, but Malik technically had kept his side of the deal. Their agreement had been that he would hand over the Rod and the information about the Door of Darkness, but they never said anything about giving the Ring back to Ryou.

Kaiba announced that he was going to blow up the tower in an hour, and everybody ran back into the airship in a state of panic.

* * *

Ryou's POV

Ryou woke up in a pile of rubble.

After climbing out, the first thing he noticed was that the Millennium Ring was missing. He wasn't entirely sure about what had happened, but he could venture a guess. The Spirit must have failed to defeat Malik's dark self.

Clutching his arm, he went inside the ship and began searching for the Ring. At first the entire ship seemed to be completely empty of people, but then he found Mai's room. As soon as she saw him, she was appalled by his haggard appearance and made him take a shower.

Once Ryou had washed up, Mai helped him bandage up his arm. They talked for a bit about what had happened during the tournament, each of them sharing the little bits of information that they knew. As it turned out, it was already the end of the tournament! Ryou could scarcely believe it. He missed out on _everything_.

After a while, they heard voices coming from down the hallway outside. Mai quickly whispered a plan she had about pretending she had died in order to screw with everybody. Ryou didn't think it would work, but it did.

"I'm sorry Jounouchi, she stopped breathing," Ryou said with mock sadness.

Everyone began to panic.

"Please wake up! Please!" Jounouchi shouted as tears began welling up in his eyes.

Eventually Mai couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing. "You were crying!?" She was genuinely touched that everyoune cared about her so much.

Ryou doubled over in a fit of giggles. It seemed that Mai had the same sense of humor that he did.

After the joke was over, Ryou decided it was time to continue his search for the Ring. "Have you seen my Millennium Ring?" he asked Dark Yugi. "I haven't been able to find it since I woke up."

"Sorry, I haven't seen it," Dark Yugi said.

" _It's a white lie, but let's not tell Bakura that we have the Millennium Ring,"_ the real Yugi said to his other self.

 _"Indeed. There's a danger of his dark side waking up,"_ Dark Yugi agreed.

Ryou wanted to go to the tower to look for his Ring, but Honda quickly explained that Kaiba was about to blow it up, and Ryou had no choice but to stay on the ship. Time was slipping away and the tower was about to blow up in five minutes…and yet the Kaiba brothers hadn't boarded the ship, which meant they were probably still on the island. Was Kaiba trying to kill himself because he lost to Yugi? What a devastating thought. Everybody began searching for him in a state of panic.

"Crud! He's not here either! Ryou, what about over there?" Jounouchi said.

"No luck. I can't find him," Ryou said, pretending to be worried, but in reality he was actually searching for the Millennium Ring.

While pretending to search for Kaiba, Ryou randomly wandered into Yugi's room. To his delight, the Millennium Ring was on the table!

"Here it is! I finally found it!" Ryou eagerly picked up the Ring and put it on, tucking it neatly underneath his shirt.

Suddenly he realized something. If the Ring had been in Yugi's room all along, it meant that Yugi had been lying about not knowing where it was. "Why didn't he tell me he had it?" he wondered out loud. But he would worry about that later. Right now he needed to act like he was worried about Kaiba so that the others would not become suspicious.

As it turned out, they didn't need to worry. Right as the island began exploding, the Kaiba brothers took off on their own private jet. Everybody stood on the roof of the ship and watched as the brothers flew off into the horizon, and once the jet was out of sight, they all began talking about the tournament.

Ryou's friends were more fearful and distrustful of the Spirit than ever before. They didn't know the Spirit's true motivations; all they knew was that he had been working with Malik.

"Why were you wearing the Millennium Ring again? You should've known better than to put it on!" Honda was saying.

Ryou rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He didn't know how to respond.

"I made him put it on when I took control of his mind," Malik spoke up.

"Oh." Everyone accepted the explanation without a second thought.

Ryou gave Malik a small smile, trying to communicate a silent "thanks." But for some reason, Malik barely even made eye contact before turning away.

Malik pitied the poor boy – he really did. Someday Ryou was going to find out the truth about the Ring Spirit and be terribly heartbroken, but for now, it wouldn't hurt to let him live in blissful ignorance.

Ryou was confused about why Malik was giving him the cold shoulder, but he ventured a guess. _He probably feels guilty about what he did to me._

* * *

Ryou snapped out of a trance while he was walking down the ship's hallway. _What was I doing?_ he thought. He must have spaced out again; it was something that he did all the time without meaning to.

"The Millennium Ring is gone!" Yugi's voice cried out in alarm.

The door to Yugi's room was partially open, and Ryou could see Yugi standing beside the table where the Ring had been. Yugi's back was turned towards the door, thus he didn't notice Ryou standing outside.

"What do you think could've happened to it?" Yugi was saying.

Ryou considered going inside and telling Yugi the truth.

"You don't think Bakura might have taken it, do you?" Yugi said worriedly.

After a moment of hesitation, Ryou quietly scampered away before Yugi could see him. _"It's a white lie, but let's not tell Yugi that I'm wearing the Ring again."_

 _"Indeed. I don't think he trusts me anymore,"_ the Spirit agreed.

Ryou finally understood why Yugi had hid the Ring from him. The Spirit's act had been too convincing while pretending to team up with Malik, and everyone misunderstood the situation.

How was he ever going to convince his friends that the Spirit was on the side of good? Yugi and Ryuji had been convinced after the DDD game, but now it seemed that they had changed their minds.

" _Yugi managed to win the God Cards on his own, and Malik would have handed his Rod over to Yugi even without our intervention._ _Therefore there was never any need for us to enter the tournament in the first place,"_ Ryou said sadly. The more he thought about the Battle City events, the gloomier he felt. Yugi and his other self were heroes, but Ryou and the Spirit were cursed. The Millennium Ring brought misfortune to everyone who came in contact with it. _"Next time we should just stay out of the way and let Yugi do all the work. We tried to help, but all we did was make the situation worse."_


	5. Family Concerns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently Ryou's father has a new character design in DSOD. I won't give away any spoilers, but I like the original anime design better. Take note that I had the anime design in mind when I wrote this entire fanfic.
> 
> Happy reading, and please leave a review! If you find any spelling and grammar mistakes, feel free to point them out to me.

One afternoon, there was a big surprise waiting for Ryou when he got home from school.

"Hey, Ryou," Mr. Bakura said when Ryou opened the door to his apartment.

"Dad!" Ryou cried joyfully, running over and giving his father a huge embrace.

"Whoa, hey, take it easy there, son. I can't breathe."

"I missed you," Ryou said, tears running down his face.

"I missed you too. Now why don't we sit down on the couch and talk for a while. We have a lot of catching up to do."

Ryou nodded, wiping his face on his sleeves. "I'll fetch the drinks," he said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Honda was sitting alone on the roof of Domino High School, staring through the fence at the busy streets below. Jounouchi watched him at a distance for a moment and then approached him.

"Sup," said Jounouchi, sitting down on the floor next to Honda.

Honda grumbled a little bit, but otherwise gave no indication that Jounouchi was even there.

"Is something the matter?" Jounouchi tried again.

"–rything's fine," Honda mumbled, his voice barely audible.

"Everything's not fine. I've known you since childhood, and I can tell when something's up. Tell me what's wrong."

"Do you always have to butt into everything about my life?" Honda shouted, tears forming in his eyes. He clenched his eyes shut, took a deep breath, and calmed himself. "Sorry. It's just, things are complicated at home right now."

"Let me hear it."

"Alright. Um…"

"Actually, hold that thought." Jounouchi turned around and shouted, "HEY GUYS! I CAN SEE YOU HIDING OVER THERE. SHOW YOURSELVES!"

Yugi and Anzu poked their heads out from behind the door, looking embarrassed. "Sorry!" Yugi called out. "Do you want us to leave?"

"Should they leave? It's your call," Jounouchi said to Honda.

"It's okay. They can stay," said Honda.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"YOU TWO, GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE," Jounouchi shouted.

Quickly, Yugi and Anzu came up onto the roof and joined Jounouchi and Honda, forming a circle.

"So, what's up?" Yugi asked.

"It's nothing, really. My parents are just fighting again," Honda said. "I don't think they're going to get a divorce this time, but…maybe they will. God I hope they don't. This is so frustrating. I mean, it's happened so many times before! They always make up in the end, although begrudgingly. But why did it have to be one of my teachers, this time though? Ms. Chono is the worst possible choice. "

"Ms. Chono?" Yugi and Anzu said at the same time.

"Let me get this straight. Your father cheated on your mother with Ms. Chono?" Jounouchi said, as he was the only one who could follow everything that Honda was saying.

"Yeah, pretty much," said Honda.

"Oh my God. I knew she…but I didn't think…this is all my fault," Anzu said, covering her face.

"What's wrong, Anzu?" asked Yugi.

"How can any of this be your fault?" asked Jounouchi.

Anzu swallowed, choking on her words. "I…the other day…several weeks ago, I talked with Ms. Chono. She said she wanted revenge on you three And then, a few days after that, my father told my mother that a strange woman had been following him around at work, trying to flirt with him. I didn't have proof, but I knew it was Ms. Chono. I had a gut feeling. The incident didn't leave much impact, so I forgot about it. Had I known she'd go after your father too…Oh Honda I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, so sorry, so sorry." Anzu was sobbing now, unable to control herself. The boys quickly went to her side trying to comfort her, telling her it's not her fault, it's going to be alright, please don't cry, so on and so forth. A few minutes later she calmed down, but was still hiccupped every now and then.

"Like I said, this isn't the first time it's happened," Honda said. "Both of my parents have cheated on each other in the past, but they always work it out in the end. They have to, for my sake, and for my brothers and sister."

"Your father's a pretty decent fella," Jounouchi said to Anzu.

Anzu nodded. "My parents tell each other everything."

"Why is Ms. Chono doing this? None of us ever did anything to her," said Yugi.

"We embarrassed her in front of the whole class, remember?" Jounouchi said.

"What? When was this? I don't remember that," Yugi said.

Suddenly, Yugi's Puzzle glowed. A second later, the other Yugi was in control. "It's my fault. I gave her a penalty game, and now my friends are suffering because of it," he said, his voice strained and remorseful.

"Yugi, no. It was all of us. You, me, Honda, and now Anzu. We're all in this together," said Jounouchi.

Impulsively, Anzu put her hand in the middle of the circle. One by one, the other did the same until it was just like all those months ago, when Anzu drew those symbols on their hands.

"On a count of three," said Anzu.

"One, two, three!" they all counted together and then threw up their arms into the sky, cheering. They laughed for a bit and then fell silent, cringing somewhat and trying to avoid eye contact with one another. What they just did was incredibly corny.

"Anyways," Honda said, clearing his throat, "I can't help but wonder. Did Ms. Chono go after either of your families too?" Honda pointed back and forth between Yugi and Jounouchi.

The Puzzle glowed again, and the real Yugi came back. "She might have, but my father left a long time ago, and I doubt she would want to date my Grandpa. And even if she tried to, it wouldn't tear my family apart."

"Same with me," said Jounouchi.

"Then I guess she played herself. She tried to break apart our families, but most of our families are already broken," Honda said.

"What about Bakura and Ryuji?" Yugi said, suddenly remembering.

"Ryou was in a different school when the incident took place, and Ryuji's only been friends with us for a few weeks. Ms. Chono has no reason to target them," said Jounouchi.

"But she might consider them guilty by association. We should warn them just in case," said Anzu.

Honda nodded. "I'm not too worried about Ryuji, since his father's in no shape to date anyone right now. But Bakura's father…"

"…is fairly young." Jounouchi finished.

* * *

Ryou and his father were still lounging on the couch, drinking soda and chatting.

"It's unbelievable. Every single person who got hit with a God Card's attack ended up in the hospital. It's amazing what people will do for the sake of a game," Mr. Bakura was saying.

"Yeah, it can be a bit scary," Ryou said.

"Speaking of Battle City, I think you have a bit of explaining to do," Mr. Bakura said, turning deadly serious.

Ryou lowered his head in shame. He had a guess where this was going. "Ahaha, yeah I know. Everyone's been telling me I should have stayed in the hospital instead of entering the finals. I promise I won't be so reckless next time."

"No no, I'm actually really glad you entered the finals. What I want to know is, did you learn anything about the Millennium Items while you were there?

"What?" Ryou nearly spat out his drink.

"The Millennium Items, Ryou. Don't play dumb, I saw it! Over half of the finalists had Items including you. There were a total of five…no wait, two people shared the Rod, so then  _four_  of the Millennium Items were at the same place at the same time. You have to give me the details. Did anything strange happen out there?"

Ryou thought about the shadow games, the near-deaths, that one guy who tried to murder multiple people…

"No," Ryou said.

"No? Nothing? No supernatural events or anything?"

"Just a bunch of super intense card games," Ryou said innocently.

"But what about all of the people who were hospitalized? People have been saying that the Duel Disks had been malfunctioning, but there's no way I can believe that. Something else must have been going on behind the scenes."

Ryou looked down at the floor and bit his lip. "It really was just the Duel Disks. Many of the finalists did have Millennium Items, but nobody used them."

Mr. Bakura peered at Ryou curiously. Was the boy lying to him, or was Ryou simply ignorant about what had truly occurred during the tournament? Mr. Bakura decided the latter explanation was more likely.

"Maybe you should just forget about the Millennium Items," Ryou said. He regretted telling his father about the Puzzle's existence. It hadn't even been that long ago, and now Mr. Bakura already knew the names to the rest of the Items.

"Not a chance. Haven't you ever wondered what would happen if we were to bring all of the Items together in one place?"

"Well, kind of."

"I want to be the first to know. Then I'll publish my findings, and history will remember my name forever." Mr. Bakura suddenly looked at his wristwatch and stood up. "It was nice chatting with you, Ryou. I have to go now."

"Again?" Ryou sounded sad. "But you just got back."

"I'll be back later tonight, I promise," Mr. Bakura said, searching for his coat.

"Are you going to the museum again?" Ryou asked, following his father into the other room.

"No actually," Mr. Bakura blushed. "I'm going on a date. As in, a romantic date. I'm seeing someone now."

"What!? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Ryou said, confused and slightly hurt.

"I was going to, but it slipped my mind," Mr. Bakura said, grabbing his keys.

"Who is it?"

"I think you'll like her. She's a nice lady, and beautiful. I'll tell you about her when I get home."

The door closed with a loud bang as Ryou's father left the apartment.


	6. Wish

The next morning, there were no fangirls waiting for Ryou when he came to school because they were too busy crowding around Ryuji, watching him perform magic tricks. This was the benefit of being friends with Ryuji – he diverted the fangirls' attention away. It was a blessing.

Ryou greeted his friends as usual. "Good morning everyone!" he said enthusiastically.

Instead of greeting him back, Yugi, Anzu, Honda and Jounouchi exchanged solemn glances with one another.

"We should tell him right now and get it over with," Honda said quietly.

"Yeah we should," said Yugi.

"You want me to do it?" Jounouchi whispered.

"No, I'll do it," Anzu whispered back.

"Why do you all look so serious? Did Yugi's grandpa's soul get sealed into a video tape again?" Ryou said.

Anzu cleared her throat. "Bakura, you know our teacher Ms. Chono?"

"Hey yeah! My father talked about her last night. They're dating each other," Ryou said cheerfully.

"What!?" sputtered Jounouchi.

"Oh no!" said Anzu.

"We're too late!" said Yugi.

"Calm down guys, it's cool! I think my father and Ms. Chono will make a really cute couple," Ryou said.

"You're really fine with it?" Honda questioned.

"As long as it makes my father happy, I'm happy!" Ryou smiled.

"But Ms. Chono's a witch," said Jounouchi.

"Hey! Don't say that," scolded Ryou. "I'm sure she's nice on the inside. Anyways, I think class is about to begin. Talk to you guys later."

Ryou sat down at his seat several desks away from the rest of the gang just as the bell rang, signaling the start of class. As students shuffled to their places, Yugi leaned over towards Jounouchi and whispered, "Do you think Bakura's going to be alright?"

"I don't know. He seems fine on the outside, but the guy's an enigma. No one can ever tell what he's really thinking," said Jounouchi.

* * *

Ryou's life at home hardly changed. Even though Mr. Bakura wasn't on a business trip anymore, he was still rarely ever home because he was either at the museum working or going on dates with Ms. Chono. He would often come home very late at night, after Ryou had already gone to bed. And even if he did come home early, all he would talk about was the Millennium Items and Ms. Chono.

Still, Ryou remained outwardly cheerful and kept smiling. Whenever his father talked to him, he smiled. Whenever he talked with his friends at school, he smiled. When he Ms. Chono waved at him in the halls or during class, he smiled and waved back. When the girls got bored of Ryuji's magic tricks and started following Ryou around again, he acted polite.

Only when he was home alone, hiding inside his bedroom with the door shut and lying on his bed with his face buried in his pillow – only then did Ryou allow himself to cry. He cried and he cried and he cried.

_All I really want is my father to pay more attention to me,_ Ryou thought. _I wish he'd put me first for a change. Is that such a selfish thing to ask?_

Ryou didn't see it, but the Millennium Ring glowed. Then he fell asleep.

* * *

The air swooshed with a gentle, warm breeze that felt pleasant against the skin. Thousands upon thousands of stars twinkled overhead, some of them shooting across the sky in streaks of light. The ground glowed like the surface of the moon, and craters of various sizes were scattered everywhere. Some of the craters were filled with toys and games, others with books or art supplies, and still others with old clothing from Ryou's childhood years.

Ryou sat on the ground facing the breeze, letting his hair flow freely. A lone door stood upright several meters behind him in the middle of the room, not connected to any wall. Suddenly he heard a knock.

Ryou got up and opened the door, and the Spirit of the Ring was standing on the other side.

"Hey Spirit…" Ryou mumbled, unable to keep up his usual cheerfulness.

"You seem down," the Spirit observed.

"Yeah…I guess I'm not in the best of moods. Sorry, but I think we ought to skip our game night. I wouldn't be any fun to play with today."

Ryou began to retreat back into his room, but the Spirit put a hand up against the door to prevent it from closing.

"I want to show you something," the Spirit said.

"Whatever it is, can it wait until tomorrow?" Ryou tried again to push the door shut, but all of a sudden, the Spirit grabbed Ryou's arm, pulling him out of the room and out into the hallway.

"Your father's expecting you to build him a diorama of Ancient Egypt. You'd better not let him down," the Spirit said, crossing his arms.

"A diorama of Egypt? Since when?" Ryou blinked, a little surprised from the sudden rough treatment.

"Since this evening. The museum's having a new exhibition in about three months and I told your father you wanted to help. You're highly skilled at building things out of polyresin after all."

Ryou was flabbergasted. "What? Why would you tell him that?"

"You made a wish, remember? If you want your father to pay more attention to you, you should do something that will make him happy."

Ryou began to panic. "But I don't know anything about Ancient Egypt! I'm doomed! It'll take ages for me to come up with the research, and there might not even be enough records! What on Earth made you think this was a good idea?"

"Calm down, Landlord. I never said you had to do it alone," the Spirit said, moving closer to the door that was opposite from Ryou's soulroom.

Ryou watched with anticipation as the Spirit materialized a key out of thin air and unlocked the large, heavy iron chain that was wrapped around the dark metal door. The chain loudly clattered to the floor. The Spirit grunted as he pushed hard against the door, slowly getting it to open.

Behind that door was a large, expansive desert at nighttime where miles and miles of sparkling sand stretched on as far as the eye could see. A river flowed in the distance and glistened with moonlight, though strangely enough there was no moon in the sky. Beyond the river laid the splendid buildings of an ancient civilization.

"Welcome to Ancient Egypt," the Spirit said smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea that Ryou’s soulroom is the moon is actually not my own idea. I got it from another fanfic called Chase, written by consumedbylove. Despite being super short, it’s one of my favorite fics of all time and left a bit of an impression on me. My actual headcannon is that Ryou’s soulroom is a life-sized version of Monster World, but the moon idea works too. Ryou is pretty spacy after all. *Ba dum tiss*


	7. Destiny

Ryou took a tentative first step into the Spirit's soulroom and looked around in wonder. The desert sand was soft and sparkly underneath his shoes, and the view of the civilization beyond the river was wonderful. He dug his hand into the ground and lifted up a handful of sand, letting it run through his fingers.

"Do you like it?" the Spirit said.

"It's beautiful," Ryou said.

"You haven't seen anything yet. Come back out here for a moment," the Spirit ordered.

After Ryou stepped back into the hallway, the Spirit briefly closed and reopened the soulroom door to reveal a new location. This time when Ryou entered, he was in the streets of a marketplace. Due to the fact that it was nighttime, the street was mostly empty except for a few beggars, street venders, and stray animals.

"Wow," Ryou breathed.

"Any time you want to travel to a different part of the soulroom, simply go back into the hallway and reopen the door while imagining the place you want to go. It'll work as long as you've been there before," the Spirit said.

Ryou was only half listening. "Wow. Look at all this!" He sprinted down the street like a child exploring a playground, taking in the details of his surroundings. "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh."

"Don't run off too far," the Spirit cautioned.

Ryou stopped in front of a street vendor selling cheap jewelry. "Excuse me, may I take a look at this?" he asked, pointing at once of the necklaces.

The street vendor didn't even look up.

"Hello?" Ryou waved his hand in front of the man's eyes.

"He can't hear you or see you," the Spirit said. "In this world, you and I are like ghosts, which means that nobody can perceive us at all. It also means we can't touch anything. Everything will fade right through us."

"Oh," Ryou said, crestfallen.

"Would you rather be gawked at like a zoo animal?" the Spirit said.

"No, it's better this way. It means I can study their society without being noticed." Ryou attempted to pick up a piece of jewelry, but faded right through his hand just as the Spirit said it would. At first Ryou was disappointed, but then an idea came to him. "If I'm a ghost, does this mean I can walk through walls?"

"Yes," said the Spirit.

Ryou immediately threw himself at the nearest wall to test it out. He entered a tavern where a group of jovial, drunken men were eating a meal and having a good time. Ryou laughed like a giddy schoolchild. "This is so cool! I can't believe this is actually happening."

Over by the corner, two men were shouting at each other in a language that Ryou couldn't understand. It was clear that they were arguing with one another. Suddenly, one of them lifted up a chair and smashed it down on the other person, knocking him out cold. Several angry men ran towards the one who was left standing, and soon a fistfight broke out.

"No! Don't fight!" Ryou said, forgetting that no one could hear him.

The Spirit grabbed Ryou's arm and pulled him towards the wall. "Come on."

"But what about– "

"The tavern-keeper will take care of it," the Spirit said. Sure enough, a woman was already at the scene, breaking up the fight and kicking the men out of her tavern.

The Spirit and Ryou returned outside into the streets. "So where do we go next?" Ryou asked.

"I'm going to sleep, so you need to leave. I don't want you wandering around in here without my supervision," the Spirit said.

"But I want to explore some more!" Ryou protested.

"Come back tomorrow. There are more people here during the day," the Spirit said.

Ryou reluctantly followed the Spirit out of the soulroom.

* * *

It was almost closing time at the Kame Game Shop. As Yugi's grandpa was sweeping the floor and getting ready to close up for the night, the phone suddenly rang.

"Hello, this is the Kame Game Shop. How may I help you?" Yugi's grandpa said into the phone.

"Hi, could I speak to Yugi please?" said the person on the other side.

"Sure thing, one sec." Yugi's grandpa covered the receiver and shouted up the staircase, "Yugi! There's someone on the phone for you!"

Yugi came running down the stairs in his pajamas, having just been getting ready for bed. He took the phone from his grandpa and said, "Hello?"

"Hi Yugi, it's Malik."

"Oh hey!" Yugi quickly took the phone with him into his bedroom and shut the door to make sure that they wouldn't be overheard. "How's the search for the Millennium Items going?"

"Semi-successful. We still haven't been able to locate the Millennium Eye, but the guy who has the Scales and Key just came in for a visit."

"Shadi came to visit you?"

"So you know him! It makes sense that you would. I actually really hate that guy! He didn't even have the courtesy to knock; he just barged right into my room by walking through the walls! Of all the disrespectful– " Malik stopped talking for a moment, realizing he had gotten off track. "Anyways, there's a message for the Pharaoh that I'm supposed to deliver. Is the Other You listening? It's really important for him to hear this."

"Yep he's listening," Yugi said as Yami Yugi manifested himself in transparent form.

"Good," said Malik. "So the Domino Museum is going to have a new exhibit on Ancient Egypt in about three months. Shadi said that in order to get his memories back, the Other You has to bring the God Cards to the stone slabs at the Museum sometime before the exhibit opens, and the closer to the opening day of the exhibition the better. In fact, it's recommended that you do it exactly a day or two before the opening day or else it might not work properly. Don't ask me why because I have no idea. That bastard left before I could ask him."

"Three months huh?" Yugi was quiet for a moment, thinking to himself. "Did Shadi say anything about the Millennium Items?"

"I'm afraid not. But I wouldn't worry about it for now. Shadi will probably give you the Key and Scales when the time is right, and the Eye should turn up eventually. Anyways, I don't want to keep you up any longer than I already have. It must be getting late where you live considering the time difference, so let's talk some other day."

"Wait Malik, I've actually been meaning to tell you something," Yugi said in an apologetic tone. "We lost the Millennium Ring."

"You what!?"

"We think Bakura took it. We were careless and left it out in the open. We haven't decided how to confront him about it though."

Malik breathed a sigh of relief. "In that case it's no big deal. Let him keep it."

"What do you mean no big deal?" Yugi's voice suddenly became angrier and deeper, indicating a switch in personalities.

"Hello Pharaoh," Malik greeted.

"Malik, this is serious! What if the Ring's evil personality comes back? What if he hurts the real Bakura?"

"The Spirit of the Millennium Ring won't hurt Bakura," Malik reassured. _At least not more than necessary,_ he thought but didn't say aloud. "And even if he did, there's not much anyone can do about it. The Ring chose Bakura, which means he's stuck with it no matter what. Even if you try to take it away from him, it'll always make its way back to him somehow. That's just how destiny works. It's better to just accept it and move on."

"You really think I can just sit back and accept it? All of my friends could be in danger!"

"I'm really sorry but like it or not, Bakura was destined to own the Ring, just as Yugi was destined to own the Puzzle. There is a very specific set of events that need to take place and everyone who's involved has been assigned to a role that can't be changed. Bakura's role just happens to be less than desirable. I know that you want to help him but trust me; you might only make things worse."

Yami Yugi grumbled into the phone.

"Look," Malik said tiredly, "if it makes you feel any better, I can tell you for certain that Bakura's situation isn't as bad as you would think, based on what I saw when I looked into his mind. His life sure as heck isn't ideal, but he isn't suffering per se."

Malik crossed his fingers and prayed to the gods that Yami Yugi wouldn’t ask for more details about Ryou’s life. There were two important reasons why he couldn’t divulge any more information: one, it would be impolite to talk about Ryou’s family situation without his permission. And two, Malik would not dare to interfere with the Ring Spirit’s planning.

Ryou’s naivety blinded him from the truth, but Malik knew what was going on; he knew that the Spirit was deceiving Ryou. However he would not dare tell anyone about it; he just didn’t have the courage to challenge destiny anymore after all of the crimes he committed during Battle City.

Luckily, Yami Yugi asked no questions and returned to the Puzzle. "We'll trust you for now," said the real Yugi.

"Thank you Yugi. I'll call you again in a couple of days to give you an update on how things are going."

"Okay. Goodbye Malik."

"Bye Yugi, bye Pharaoh."

* * *

While normal archeologists like Mr. Bakura had to rely on excavations and old documents to unlock the secrets to the past, Ryou had been handed the golden opportunity to study Ancient Egypt up close and in person. He got to see an ancient palace, the cities, the ruins of an abandoned village, and the burial sites of kings and queens all at the height of Egypt's glory. He was the luckiest kid in the world no doubt. This was every history enthusiast's dream come true!

At least, that's what Ryou thought at first. But he quickly learned that life wasn't all that glamorous during ancient times. People died in the streets all the time, slavery was common, and the penalties for committing crimes were often excruciatingly brutal. And the worst part of it was, Ryou couldn't do anything except watch from the sidelines.

Still, he persevered. He genuinely wanted to make the diorama and he wasn't going to give up no matter what. Whenever there was violence, he could simply leave until things settled down.

During the course of the next few days, Ryou produced over a hundred rough sketches of the people and their surroundings. Since he did not have a photographic memory, he often had to return to the Spirit's soulroom over and over in order to accurately render his drawings. To an outsider it would have looked like he was falling in and out of sleep sporadically. For once, he was grateful that his father was never home to observe what he was doing.

The process of building the diorama was not easy, as each and every individual piece had to be assembled in a total of four major steps. Step one was to draw a sketch. Step two was to make a model out of clay. Step three was to cover the clay model with silicone rubber and make a mold that would take one or two days to dry. Then finally, step four was to pour resin into the mold and create the plastic figure that would be used in the diorama. Each figure had to be sanded down and hand-painted as well, so it was all very time-consuming.

However Ryou never found the work boring and the hours passed away like a breeze. Whenever he did something related to art, he didn't know how to stop. Sometimes he was so absorbed in his work that he skipped meals and neglected to sleep, and the Spirit eventually had to step in to make sure his physical health didn't deteriorate too much.

One night, Mr. Bakura came home at two in the morning to see Ryou's bedroom in absolute shambles. Ryou was sitting at his desk and painting one of his figurines at the time, but the bedroom was so cluttered that it was a mystery as to how he was able to work at all. Evidently he had run out of desk space a long time ago, so the entire bedroom floor was covered with paper sketches, rubber molds, art supplies, tools, and models made of both resin and clay.

"Ryou, I appreciate your dedication but this is getting out of hand," Mr. Bakura said.

Glancing up at the clock, Ryou realized how late it was. "Sorry Dad, I'll go to bed now."

"That's not what I meant." Mr. Bakura gestured to the surroundings. "Look at this place! It's a mess."

Ryou looked around as if he were properly seeing things for the first time. "Huh. When did that happen?"

* * *

The following day, Mr. Bakura brought his son to the Domino Museum and showed him a hidden room behind the Tablet of Lost Memories.

"Since no one else is using this room, I'll let you borrow it. From now on you can build your diorama in here," said Mr. Bakura.

"This is perfect!" Ryou said gleefully. The room was wonderfully spacious and had a very high ceiling.

"I'm glad you like it. Now please clean your bedroom," said Mr. Bakura.

It took several trips home and back, but Ryou managed to move all of his supplies into the museum before it got dark out. All he needed now was a diorama table large enough for the display. Due to the uniqueness of the project, Ryou would have to get the table custom-made. He would worry about that later.

Ryou realized that he had forgotten to bring a few of his paintbrushes to the museum, so he went on one more trip back home. When he arrived in his dining room, he was shocked to see his father and Ms. Chono eating a meal together.

"Ryou! Come sit down. It's about time I introduced you two," Mr. Bakura said.

With his eyes lowered to the floor, Ryou pulled up a chair and sat down. He had no appetite to eat anything so he didn't bother to grab a plate or utensils. Neither his father nor Ms. Chono seemed to notice or care.

"This is my son Ryou," Mr. Bakura said to Ms. Chono.

"Oh yes, the quiet boy who sits in the back row. I remember him," Ms. Chono said indifferently as she dabbed make-up on her face.

"Right, I forgot that you teach at the same school Ryou goes to. That makes things a whole lot simpler, doesn't it?" said Mr. Bakura.

"Sure," Ms. Chono shrugged, putting away her make-up.

"What's Ryou like in school?" Mr. Bakura said.

"He's a good kid. Never speaks out, never causes trouble. Personally I like the quiet ones the best." Ms. Chono finally looked at Ryou. Smiling fakely, she reached out and stroked his long white hair in what was supposed to be an affectionate manner. Ryou cringed, and it took all of his willpower not to move away.

"In that case, I think you two will get along swimmingly well," said Mr. Bakura.

"I hear little Ryou is very popular with the ladies. He must have inherited your good looks," Mr. Chono smiled seductively. She and Mr. Bakura began to lean in towards each other.

At that, Ryou decided to excuse himself from the table. "I have to get back to work on the diorama," he said.

Ryou fled to his bedroom as fast as possible and slammed the door shut. Then he grabbed a spare blanket and used it to cover up the crack under his door to muffle out the sounds. He couldn't take much more of this.

Without bothering to change his clothes, he threw himself into bed and covered himself with the sheets to take a nap. Thanks to the power of the Millennium Ring, he fell asleep instantly.


	8. Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so if you've read my fanfic before, this chapter used to be about a massive argument between Ryou and the Ring Spirit, but I'm deleting it now and putting only my second version of the story on here. The first version was supposed to be funny, but in hindsight it was way too unrealistic and both Ryou and the Spirit were OOC. Trust me when I say that the newer version is better, since I did a whole bunch of research on sociopaths.

It was nighttime again in the Spirit's soulroom.

Ryou sat in the middle of the desert floor, making drawings in his sketchbook. Anything he drew in here would not be permanent because he couldn't take the sketchbook out into the real world, but he made sketches anyway because it helped him remember things.

The Spirit sat beside his Light, stealing glances now and then at the sketches, but not too often because he knew that staring over Ryou's shoulder too often would make the boy feel uncomfortable.

Tonight the two of them were alone, for they were in the ruins of an old deserted village where no one lived anymore. All of the buildings were in disrepair as if a massive fire had burned everything down at some point. After a while, Ryou put down his art materials and took the time to stretch. His shoulders were getting stiff from sitting in the same position for too long. He looked up at the pitch-black empty sky and frowned to himself. For some reason the sky  _always_  looked like this, even during the daytime. There was nothing up there: no sun, moon, stars, or light. Nothing but darkness.

"Your soulroom is really neat. Perfect for stargazing," Ryou said wistfully.

"Don't be absurd. How can you stargaze at a sky without any stars?" the Spirit said with genuine confusion.

"Uh…actually Spirit, I was making an attempt at sarcasm."

The Spirit raised an eyebrow. "Sarcasm?" he echoed.

"Yeah, you know, when you say one thing and mean something else?"

"…?"

"Nevermind." Ryou ended the awkward conversation and thought,  _Wow, his social skills are almost as bad as mine._

Ryou picked up his art materials and got up from the floor, walking deeper into the desolated village. He didn't need to look back to know that the Spirit was following him.

"This place is eerie. What do you think happened here?" Ryou asked.

"Don't know," the Spirit said.  _And don't care,_ he added inside his head.

"Do you miss being alive?" Ryou said to fill the silence.

"Why are you asking all of a sudden?" the Spirit questioned.

"I'm just curious."

"Considering I don't remember anything from when I was alive, I hardly miss it."

Ryou stopped dead in his tracks and eyed his other self with curiosity. "That's insane. You have a perfect life-sized replica of Ancient Egypt inside your mind, and you don't remember anything from when you were alive?"

"It's not me projecting our surroundings; it's the Ring," the Spirit explained. "My room used to be filled with only sand. The river, mountains, and civilization didn't start to appear until after you became my host, and the ancient people you see walking around didn't show up until about a year ago."

Ryou's eyes widened with shock. "That's really…sad! You were trapped alone inside a room full of nothing but  _sand_  for three thousand years?"

"I told you, I'm used to it. It's not that bad," the Spirit said shrugging.

"Yeah but still…" Ryou was beginning to feel more and more distressed by the second. "Oh god! No wonder you were so messed up when we first met. You must've been so lonely."

"I suppose," the Spirit answered vaguely.

All of a sudden, Ryou ran over and wrapped the Spirit up in a hug. "That's terrible. So terrible. Did no one bother to give you a shred of human sympathy this whole time?"

The Spirit looked down at his Light with a mix of amusement and gratitude. "You care about me that much?"

"Of course I do. If I don't then who will?" Ryou buried his face into the Spirit's shoulder, deepening the embrace.

With a chuckle, the Spirit stroked Ryou's head like a collector appreciating his favorite possession. It felt good to be loved, as it was the fuel that fed his own self-love. In his mind, he had successfully seduced Ryou into handing over not only the boy's body, but also his heart.

They stayed together like that for a couple more moments, and then the Spirit gently prodded Ryou away.

"You should get back to sketching," the Spirit said.

"Okay." Ryou promptly sat down on the ground, opened his sketchbook up to a new page, and got started on a new drawing. The Spirit sat down nearby and watched him.

And oh, did he love watching Ryou make art! The  _skch skch_  sound of the pencil on paper was like music to his ears. The elegant movement of Ryou's wrist was like magic. Every time the Spirit saw Ryou working, he felt a massive wave of pleasure. He loved Ryou with a fierce, childlike obsession.

"I think you're very brave for enduring all that social isolation," Ryou said after a silence.

"You're pretty brave too, considering how long you've had to live by yourself," the Spirit pointed out.

Ryou hung his head. "Actually, I didn't deal with my isolation all that well. You probably already know, but I write letters to my sister a lot." He scribbled into his sketchbook furiously, becoming more and more anxious as he spoke. "I just can't stop thinking about the life I could've had if the crash hadn't happened. The family I could've had. So sometimes I pretend they're still alive in order to fill the void." As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it.  _Oh crap, I did it again_ , he thought. Whenever he started rambling, he often ended up spilling too much.  _Crap, he's probably going to judge me._

"I understand your pain."

To Ryou's surprise, he felt the Spirit's arms wrap around him from behind.

"If you want, I can be your replacement family," the Spirit murmured comfortingly.

Ryou relaxed into the Spirit's protective embrace like a lonely child craving attention. "You'd do that for me?" he said grinning.

"Of course! What are friends for?" the Spirit said, grinning back.

* * *

The Shadow has no shape, form, or personality of its own; it simply molds itself to the will of the Light.

The Spirit molded himself to suit every single one of Ryou's deepest desires; he was a parental guardian, brother, loyal friend and perfect companion. He would've fulfilled the role of a lover too if Ryou had wanted it. As the saying goes, "the devil doesn't come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns. He comes as everything you've ever wished for."

 _Would he still love me if he knew about my true nature?_  the Spirit thought to himself one evening during dinnertime.

Ryou sat at the dining table, picking at his food instead of eating it.

 _"What's the matter?"_  the Spirit said into the mind-link.

"…it's nothing," Ryou muttered out loud.

_"You can tell me. I won't judge."_

With a sigh, Ryou pushed his plate away. "My father didn't come home today either." He put his head on his hand and stared blankly at the wall. "I just don't understand him. Whenever I'm at the museum, he's not there. Whenever I'm at home, he's somewhere else. Sometimes I think he deliberately avoids me. Why do you think that is?"

_"Now, don't think that just because bad things happen to you means you're worthless. You're not worthless at all; you're precious as a gem, and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. And even if he has a strange way of showing it, your father loves you."_

"Thank you, that's so kind of you to say that," Ryou said.

 _"If you want, I can share your meal with you,"_  the Spirit offered.

Ryou bit his lip, hesitating. "I don't know. The last time I let you do that, you got me drunk."

_"I promise I won't do it again."_

After taking a moment to decide, Ryou relented. "Okay." He didn't have much of an appetite anyway, so he might as well let the Spirit eat for him.

They switched places. Bakura took control and quickly ate Ryou's dinner. Then he got up and opened one of the kitchen cabinets where he kept a secret stash of stolen alcoholic beverages.

The first time he drank alcohol, he had consumed too much and ended up making his Light very angry. Now he was more careful about limiting his consumption so that he would not get caught. With any luck, he would be able to build up the body's alcohol tolerance over time so that he would be able to drink more without actually making Ryou drunk.

After taking a small sip from one of the bottles, he closed the cabinet and sat back down at the table. Then he downed a glass of water so that the bitter taste wouldn't linger. Only after that did he relinquish control of the body back to his Light.

Ryou's head swirled after he was shoved back into his body. "Hey Spirit…do you think you can stop blocking me out when you take over?"

 _"I don't know how not to block you out,"_  the Spirit said.

"Oh. Well, maybe you just need practice. Could you try to figure out a way? I mean, it works with the Yugis."

 _"Sure I'll work on it,"_  the Spirit lied. He didn't actually intend to follow through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish I could’ve written it better, but you get the gist. When a sociopath is seducing you, it can feel like you’re meeting the man or woman of your dreams. They understand everything about you and they fulfill every single one of your needs and insecurities to the point that you can grow emotionally dependent on them. The problem is that they only stay in a relationship for as long as they feel in control or benefited, and once they feel they have no use for you anymore, they leave.
> 
> There are pros and cons of being friends with a sociopath. On the one hand they are extremely loyal and protective of you, and they love you the way a child would love a parent – with intense acceptance and selfishness, and no judgment. But on the other hand they have no qualms about hurting, manipulating, or betraying you for their own benefit. Generally the pros of being friends with them outweigh the cons.
> 
> In case you’re curious, the book I got this information from is called “Confessions of a Sociopath, A Life Hiding in Plain Sight” by M.E. Thomas. Go check it out! It’s really neat.


	9. Breaking the Curse

One afternoon, Ryou went to the museum to work on the diorama as usual, and to his surprise, his father and Ms. Chono were standing in front of the stone slabs. His first reaction upon seeing them was to turn around and leave, but it was too late; Ms. Chono had already caught sight of him. "Ryou!" she cooed his name as if calling a stray kitten.

"Oh hey Ryou," Mr. Bakura said, noticing his son for the first time. "Good to see you."

Ryou quickly put on a mask of friendliness. "Good afternoon Ms. Chono, Dad," he said politely.

"Darling, how are you? I rarely ever get a chance to see you," said Ms. Chono, which was a lie. They saw each other every day at school.

"I was just telling Ms. Chono about the Millennium Items. Come join us," said Mr. Bakura.

Ryou reluctantly walked closer and stood next to his father in front of the stone slabs.

"Isn't it fascinating? I never knew there was more than one of these weird magical gold thingies. I thought Yugi's pendant was the only one," said Ms. Chono.

"It's called the Puzzle," Mr. Bakura corrected.

"Yes, yes. That's right. How silly of me," Ms. Chono slapped her forehead exaggeratedly, and a piece of her face make-up fell off and shattered on the floor like porcelain. Hurriedly she grabbed her face powder and got to work covering up the exposed area. Mr. Bakura was too busy staring at one of the stone slabs to notice.

"I wish I knew the meaning behind this scene depicted here," Mr. Bakura rambled mostly to himself. "What kind of ancient ritual are they performing? What does it have to do with the Millennium Items? And more importantly, why do these people look like...like..."

"Mutou Yugi and Kaiba Seto?" Ms. Chono finished, and judging by her bored tone, she was not really interested in this conversation.

"That's right!" Mr. Bakura said, snapping his fingers.

"You could just ask them yourself," said Ms. Chono dully.

"I've tried, but they're both celebrities. Mr. Kaiba is in America and Mr. Mutou is always being followed by his fans. I can't get close to either one of them," Mr. Bakura said.

"Well, that's easy! I could just give Yugi detention or something and have him visit my office after school, and then you can come in and talk to him," said Ms. Chono.

Mr. Bakura's eyes lit up in excitement. "Brilliant! I knew I could count on you!"

As Mr. Bakura and Ms. Chono leaned in to kiss one another, Ryou shielded his eyes.

"I have to go to another meeting right now, but we'll see each other again tonight. Meet you at the same place as usual?" Mr. Bakura said.

"Of course, honey! Don't work to hard now," Ms. Chono cooed.

They quickly kissed one more time, and then Mr. Bakura was gone, leaving Ryou alone with his least favorite teacher.

"Now then," Ms. Chono's voice grew ten times darker with Ryou's father out of the picture. "Come here you little brat!" She reached out and tried to grab Ryou, and he jumped out of the way just in time, heart rapidly beating.

"What do you want from me, Ms. Chono?" Ryou asked, tense yet still polite.

Cracks appeared on Ms. Chono's face like fractured glass. "Your father told me about you! You have one of those magic millennium things," she screeched.

Ryou could feel the Millennium Ring growing warmer against his chest. Any second now, the Spirit was going to take over. _Don't come out! I want to handle this on my own!_ Ryou shouted into the mind-link, and the Ring stopped reacting.

"Give it to me," Ms. Chono growled, taking a menacing step towards Ryou. Her make-up was peeling away rapidly.

"Wait! Don't come any closer! You don't know how dangerous the Millennium Items can be. You could get seriously hurt!" Ryou pleaded.

But Ms. Chono wasn't listening. She continued to stalk closer to Ryou, and Ryou backed away until he hit the wall behind him.

 _Don't come out, don't come out,_ Ryou thought over and over in his head. Aloud he said, "Stay back! STAY BACK!"

With a flash of light, the Millennium Ring materialized itself through Ryou's shirt and out into plain view, and Ms. Chono was suddenly pulled up into the air by an invisible force and thrown across the room, crashing into the opposite wall.

For a moment, Ryou was paralyzed with shock. Did he do that? He hadn't known he was capable of it. "M-Ms. Chono. Are you alright? Oh gosh, I'm so sorry." Once he snapped out of his confusion, he ran to his teacher and tried to help her up.

Ms. Chono shrank away from him, curling up into a ball and covering her face. "Leave me alone. Don't look at me!" she choked out, starting to cry. "I-I'm h-h-hideous!"

"Don't say that. You're beautiful!" Ryou said.

Ms. Chono turned around and glared at Ryou with tear-streaked eyes. By now, every single piece of make-up had already fallen away, revealing her crinkled and disfigured face.

Ryou flinched but composed himself. "It's not that bad…" he coughed.

"I don't need your pity," Ms. Chono grumbled. "This is all Yugi's f-fault. He did this to me."

"Yugi made your skin look like that?" Ryou said disbelievingly. He knew that Ms. Chono had something against Yugi, but his friends had never told him the reason why.

"No, you dolt! I was born looking like this. Yugi cursed me so I couldn't cover it up with make-up."

"Oh…" Ryou didn't know what to do at first, but then an idea came to him. "I can help!" he said brightly, grabbing the Millennium Ring with both hands.

" _You_ want to help _me_?" Ms. Chono said incredulously.

"Sure, why not? Here, let me just…" Ryou closed his eyes and concentrated.

A few moments passed and nothing happened. Ms. Chono began to grow impatient. "Well? Aren't you going to do anything?" she said.

"Please be quiet for just a little while. I've never attempted this before," Ryou admitted, keeping his eyes closed. He took deep breaths, making himself relax. He could feel the shadow energy in the air, and all he had to do was make it bend to his will. The Millennium Ring glowed in his hands.

Once it was all finished, Ryou opened his eyes. "Did it work?" he wondered.

Ms. Chono took out her make-up and began applying it. She rubbed her face with primer, put on a full coat of foundation, and then added applications of concealer, highlighter, contour, and a little bit of blush. Afterwards, she got to work on her eyes, which took a surprising number of steps to complete.

Ryou had no idea that there were so many steps to applying make-up. No wonder his fangirls complained about it all the time. He sat leaning against a wall and started playing games on his phone as he waited for Ms. Chono to finish.

The process of putting on a full set of make-up took a total of twenty minutes. When she was done, Ms. Chono looked in her compact mirror and grinned in satisfaction. "Welp, considering that nothing's peeled off yet, it seems that the curse is broken."

"That's good to hear!" Ryou said, putting his phone away.

Ms. Chono smiled a real, sincere smile. "Thank you Ryou. It's been a long time since anyone's been nice to me after seeing my natural face."

"Your welcome," Ryou said with a touch of sadness.

Ms. Chono gathered up all of her make-up supplies into her bag and stood up, smoothing out her clothes.

Ryou stood up as well, tucking the Millennium Ring back underneath his shirt. "Do you think you could do me a favor and stop dating my father? I've never been truly comfortable with it."

"You don't think I'd make a good step-mother?" Ms. Chono teased, making Ryou shudder. Then she laughed and said, "I'm just kidding, hon. Calm down. All right, I'll leave your father alone. He may be handsome but I'm getting sick of his boring rants about Ancient Egypt."

"Thanks!" Ryou beamed. "I have to go work on my diorama, but I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"Yes, see you later Ryou," Ms. Chono said with genuine gladness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No penalty game for Ms. Chono, sorry. I was originally going to have her betray Ryou again and then have Bakura kill her off, but the repercussions would have been too great and it'd screw up the entire storyline. So I got rid of her the easiest way I knew how; by converting her to good. It's cheesy but effective, so now I can move on to other random story ideas.
> 
> btw, I want to say thank you to those of you who have left reviews! If you haven't written a review yet and would like to, please do so! I'll accept anything including criticism as long as they aren't flames.


	10. Kaiba Land

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter is slightly fan-servicey and contains implied shounen-ai. You have the option to skip this chapter because it doesn't contain anything crucial to the overall plot. In other words: don't like don't read.
> 
> That being said, why do I even have to put this kind of warning in my story? I mean nobody ever bats an eyelash when Takahashi ships Anzu and Yugi together. If shounen-ai is boy x boy and shojo-ai is girl x girl, then what do we call a girl x boy pairing? Do we even have a word for it?
> 
> Imagine if fanfic writers were to put "Warning! This story contains girl x boy. Don't like don't read!" in their descriptions lmao

It was another ordinary morning at Domino High School in which Yugi and Jounouchi were playing a game of Duel Monsters while the rest of the gang watched. Yugi won again as usual, and Jounouchi demanded another rematch.

"Maybe we should stop for now. I don't think we'll be able to get another game in before classes start," Yugi said.

"Fine, but later today I'm gonna duel you again and kick your butt. You can count on it," Jounouchi said.

"Ugh, could you give it a rest already? We're tired of watching you lose all the time," Anzu groaned.

"Good morning everyone!" Ryou said, entering the scene.

"Good morning!" all his friends greeted.

"You're later than usual today," Honda noted.

"Yeah, the girls held me back longer than normal. But anyways, I was thinking we should all do something fun together since it's the weekend tomorrow," Ryou said.

"Hey yeah! We haven't come over to play Monster World in a while," said Yugi excitedly.

Ryou cleared his throat and made a bow of apology. "Actually Yugi, I've been working so hard on other stuff that I've neglected to write any new RPG stories for Monster World. Sorry…"

"It's okay, don't worry about it," Yugi said.

"So what do we do instead? Burger World?" Jounouchi suggested.

Anzu grimaced. "Ew, no! I'm not showing my face around there ever again."

"Then how about the arcade?" Yugi volunteered.

"Good idea!" said Jounouchi.

"I'm in," said Anzu.

"Actually guys, there's a place I've been wanting to go for a while," Ryou broke in shyly.

"Okay! Let's hear it," said Honda encouragingly.

"Kaiba Land!" Ryou beamed.

Yugi, Anzu, and Honda recoiled in absolute horror, and Jounouchi let out a high-pitched scream.

"NO! Absolutely not! Worst idea ever!" Jounouchi said.

"Why? What's so bad about it? It's just an amusement park," Ryou said, cocking his head.

Yugi, Anzu, Jounouchi and Honda exchanged knowing looks at one another, shuddering as they remembered their experiences.

"Let's just say Kaiba really screwed us over. He created a whole bunch of rides that were specifically designed to kill us and we're all horribly traumatized," Jounouchi said.

"Isn't that illegal? Why didn't you guys report him for it?" Ryuji questioned.

"We did, but Kaiba probably bribed the cops or something," Jounouchi said.

However Ryou refused to give up. "But nobody actually died, right? Kaiba Land's just a regular amusement park now."

Honda shook his head, Jounouchi shuddered, and Anzu and Yugi both gave Ryou apologetic looks.

"Sorry Bakura, none of us want to go. But if you want, you two can go together," Yugi said, pointing to Ryou and Ryuji.

"Do you want to, Ryuji?" Ryou asked with wide open eyes in Ryuji's direction.

Ryuji looked into Ryou's innocent, imploring eyes and just couldn't say no. "All right, why not? I don't have anything better to do."

Ryou clapped his hands exuberantly. "Yay! Now I'm going to head to the bathroom real quick before class starts. See you guys later!" He hurried out of the classroom.

There was a brief moment of silence after Ryou left. Then Jounouchi shook his head and sighed. "I like Ryou, but he creeps me out sometimes. I know he's just messing around half the time, but still."

* * *

The next day, the weather was gloomy and gray, and it looked like it would rain any minute. Luckily, Kaiba Land was an indoor amusement park, so the weather didn't matter.

When Ryou arrived, Ryuji was already there standing at the entrance. "Sorry I'm late. How long did I make you wait?" said Ryou.

"Not too long. Let's go in," said Ryuji.

The line was moderately long, and it took them ten minutes to get their tickets and drop off their coats. Once inside, they pondered on what to do first.

"Do you want to eat now or go on a ride?" said Ryuji.

"Um, let's eat now. I didn't have breakfast," said Ryou.

At the food court, there was a wide selection of different types of fast food including sandwiches, burgers, and Japanese and Chinese takeout. In the end they both settled on Japanese food, going with what was the most familiar to them. As they were looking for a place to sit, Ryou suddenly spotted someone he knew. It was a teenager wearing green cargo pants and with black hair that was so long, it almost reached the floor while seated.

"Janin! Hey!" Ryou called out, waving. His old friend looked up, spotted Ryou, and waved back enthusiastically.

"Who's that?" Ryuji questioned.

"A friend from my old school," said Ryou.

Ryou and his friend Janin greeted each other with a hug and then seated themselves across from each other at the table. "It's so nice to see you Ryou! How have you been?" said Janin.

"Pretty good! How about you?" said Ryou.

"Not too bad but it's been kind of boring since you left. None of the others want to play games anymore," said Janin.

Ryuji took a seat next to Ryou and cleared his throat.

"Oh! Right! I should introduce you," said Ryou. "Ryuji, this is Janin. Janin, this is Ryuji."

Ryuji and Janin bowed to one another, exchanging a "Nice to meet you."

"Not to be rude but…are you a girl or a boy?" Ryuji said.

"Girl," said Janin.

"Okay. Sorry for asking," said Ryuji.

"It's okay, I don't mind. I like to evoke that effect on purpose. You look a bit girly yourself by the way," said Janin.

Ryuji shrugged and smiled. "Thanks, I try."

There was another girl sitting next to Janin whom Ryou had never met before. "Let me introduce both of you to my friend over here. This is Mei Fen," Janin said.

Mei Fen was a shy girl who wore large round glasses and a shirt that had the English words "WANT SO LALA EVEL" in bold font. None of them could read English, but the words looked cool so nobody questioned it.

"Hello," both boys greeted with a bow.

Mei Fen bowed back and then ducked her head low, hiding her eyes behind her bangs.

"Mei Fen grew up in China, so her Japanese isn't perfect. But she speaks it well enough to get by," explained Janin.

Mei Fen whispered something in Chinese into Janin's ear. Janin nodded and responded in Japanese, "I know right! I totally get what you mean."

"What did she say?" asked Ryuji.

Mei Fen covered her mouth with two hands, embarrassed. Janin laughed and said, "Nothing! It's just that…um, well…"

"What is it? Tell me!" Ryou leaned forward curiously.

The girls looked at one another and giggled. "You're both so androgynous! You look really good together as a pair," said Janin.

"Ahh, so you two are  _that_  type of fangirl," Ryuji nodded understandingly.

"What are you talking about?" Ryou said.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, Ryou," Ryuji teased. "Here, eat up. You must be hungry." Ryuji used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of chicken and held it up against Ryou's mouth. Ryou was confused, but ate it anyway.

Janin and Mei Fen giggled with delight as Ryuji picked up a napkin and tenderly wiped Ryou's face. When Ryuji tried to feed Ryou a second piece of chicken, Ryou rejected it with a wave of his hand. "This is taking too long. I can feed myself."

The four teenagers ate their lunches without speaking for a while. Once every minute, Mei Fen stared up at Ryou and then quickly ducked her head down when he noticed her looking.

"We saw you on TV the other day. Mei Fen's your fan," Janin said to Ryou.

"I was on TV?" Ryou said astonished.

"You were in the Battle City tournament, remember?" Janin said, throwing up her hands.

"Oh yeah," said Ryou sheepishly. "I only made it to the quarterfinals though."

"The fact that you reached the finals at all is already impressive," said Janin. "Though I'm a little surprised. I knew you liked games, but I didn't think you took them seriously enough to actually enter a tournament. Games are supposed to be fun in my opinion, and if you go too hardcore then it just becomes work." Janin put down her chopsticks and pushed her empty tray away. "I'm finished eating. How about you guys?"

Mei Fen held up a finger and started to shove food in her mouth, trying to eat quicker.

"Take your time, I don't want you to start choking," said Janin.

Five minutes later, Mei Fen put down her chopsticks and started to gather up the trays. Ryuji stepped up and took the plates in her stead, saying "I'll take care of it."

"Did you and Mei Fen go on any rides yet?" Ryou asked.

"Not really. We played a few carnival games, but that doesn't really count," said Janin.

"Oh good! Because I want to go to the Mine of Lost Souls," Ryou said excitedly.

"Why are you so predictable? I just knew you'd say that," said Janin.

The Mine of Lost Souls was a haunted house attraction in which holographic ghosts jumped out to scare the riders at every turn. This was pretty much the whole reason Ryou wanted to come to Kaiba Land in the first place. It took thirty minutes of waiting in line to get to the actual ride. Luckily Ryuji always carried a pair of dice in his pocket and was able to entertain them all with some magic tricks while they were waiting.

Each cart held up to four people. The girls climbed into the front, and the boys sat in the back. Mei Fen wasn't the kind of person to enjoy this type of ride, so she hid her face against Janin's chest for the whole time. Ryou was predictably in awe of everything, applauding and laughing at the hyper-realistic ghosts popping out at him while everyone else screamed in fear.

They were getting closer to the end of the attraction when the biggest, most grotesque ghost of all would jump out at them while a hidden camera automatically snapped a photo. Ryou was very excited for it. However, Ryuji suddenly placed his arm around Ryou's shoulders and pulled their bodies close together, surprising Ryou so much that he missed the moment that the giant ghost jumped out at them. The moment the photo was taken, Ryuji looked directly into the hidden camera and smirked.

Later when they had gotten off the ride, Ryou complained, "Why did you do that? Because of you, I didn't get to see what the ghost looked like!"

"Take a look at our photo," Ryuji said, pointing at one of the TV screens in the booth outside the ride's exit.

In the photo, Janin had her arms wrapped around Mei Fen, who was squeezing her eyes shut in fear. Behind them, Ryou was leaning against Ryuji's chest with a look of surprise on his innocent face, and Ryuji was smiling devilishly at the camera with his arm around Ryou in a protective manner.

Mei Fen and Janin let out a squeals of joy when they saw the photo. Janin said to the cashier, "We both want a large framed photo, an unframed medium photo, a keychain and a wallet photo. One for each of us individually, please."

"You see that, Bakura? That's how you make the fangirls happy. You gotta give them a performance," said Ryuji.

"A performance? You mean like a puppet show?" Ryou said, not quite getting it.

Ryuji laughed so hard he nearly choked. "You're so utterly clueless I love it! Keep it up!"

"Eh?" Ryou said.

Just then, Mei Fen shyly approached the boys with her head lowered to the ground. She held up one of her photos from the ride and spoke in a tiny, barely audible voice, "Can I get your autographs?"

"Do you have a pen by any chance?" Ryou said to Ryuji.

"As a matter of fact I do," Ryuji said, taking a pen out of his pocket. He signed the picture and then handed the pen to Ryou, who signed right underneath Ryuji's signature. Mei Fen bowed her head in thanks.

The four teenagers went to several attractions after that, including a Ferris wheel, roller coaster, house of mirrors, spinning car ride, and laser tag. After that they were tired of waiting in lines, so they played carnival games and won prizes for themselves.

It was late afternoon when the teenagers picked up their coats and other belongings at the entrance and left the amusement park. Ryuji was mildly surprised when Janin picked up a longboard and helmet, but shrugged it off.

The ground was wet outside because it had just finished raining recently, but most of the clouds had disappeared and the sun was shining. They came across an empty playground on their way home, and since there were still some hours left before the sun went down, they decided to hang around for a little bit.

Janin skated around the playground, showing off some tricks on her longboard while Mei Fen swung herself on the swings and the boys hung around casually on the roundabout. Janin skated down a railing, flipping her longboard as she jumped off. However, her landing was unsteady and she wobbled around a bit before catching herself. The others were impressed nevertheless and applauded her. Janin bowed her head at them but frowned to herself for making an error.

As Janin practiced the same trick over and over again in the background, Ryuji started up a conversation with Ryou. "So I finally managed to get a lease on the property. Our café should be opening up soon."

"Congratulations!" Ryou said, genuinely happy for him.

"Thank you! I'm still a little short on cash though," Ryuji said. "I'm thinking about getting another part-time job, but that'll increase the chances of me getting suspended. I mean, what if a teacher recognizes me?"

"I wish the school would change that rule," Ryou mused. "You, Anzu and Jounouchi are always working so hard."

Ryuji nodded. "Yeah, seems like everyone's in need or a little money these days."

"If you're desperate for money, you can always sue KaibaCorp as a last resort," Janin said. She had finished practicing tricks and was joining Mei Fen on the swings.

"But why?" Ryou said.

Janin threw up her hands like it was obvious. "The duel disks! Duh!  _So many_  people were hospitalized during the Battle City finals thanks to those malfunctioning duel disks. I'm surprised that  _nobody_  sued KaibaCorp after what happened up there."

"It wasn't the duel disks' fault. The strength of the God Cards was just too much," Ryou said.

"But still, KaibaCorp should have put a limit on how much pain the duel disks could dish out, God Cards or not," Janin pointed out.

Ryou couldn't argue with that.

Ryuji absentmindedly spun the roundabout in a circle. Ryou stood next to him, hanging on to the bars with a tight, nervous grip. "Stop spinning it Ryuji! You're making me dizzy," Ryou said.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry," Ryuji said, bringing the roundabout to a stop. Glancing at the girls to make sure they were watching, Ryuji took Ryou's hand in his own and pulled him into a dance while humming a soft tune.

"What are you doing?" Ryou questioned.

"It's a performance, Ryou. Go along with it. Pretend you're on a stage," Ryuji said.

"But I'm not an actor and I can't dance," Ryou said anxiously.

"No worries." Ryuji grabbed Ryou's chin and tilted it up. "You're perfect just the way you are."

Their heads were so close together that Ryou could feel Ryuji's breath against his face. For a moment the boys just stood there that way while the girls watched with fascination. And then two thugs showed up.

"Well well well, what do we have here? A couple of girly sea queens," said a deep, gruff voice.

"Oh crap," said Ryuji, pushing Ryou away. He recognized these guys. Their names were Rosen and Guil, two of the most stereotypical and generic bullies from Domino High School.

"I don't know about this, Rosen. That the creepy transfer kid," said Guil, following a little ways behind the first bully.

"Aw, those stupid rumors don't scare me," bragged Rosen.

On a normal day, one or two bullies were no big deal for Ryuji, but today he had a total of three people to protect. It wasn't going to be a fair fight.

"Ryou, listen to me. When I say go, you take the girls and run," Ryuji whispered.

"But –" Ryou began.

"Just do it and don't ask questions," Ryuji hissed.

"Dirty little queens like you make me sick. You shouldn't be allowed to exist," Rosen said, cracking his knuckles.

"GO!" Ryuji shouted as he flicked a pair of dice into the air, one at each bully. The dice hit the bullies on their heads and knocked them backwards.

Janin sprang into action, grabbing both Mei Fen and Ryou by the arms and kicking up her longboard with her feet. Somehow she managed to fit all three of them together on the longboard and skated away.

Ryuji stayed behind, placing himself between the bullies and the playground's exit. Rosen and Guil recovered from their initial shock of being pegged with dice and growled at him. "You think you can pick a fight with us? You're outnumbered," said Rosen.

"It shouldn't be too hard. You guys are all brawns and no brain," said Ryuji.

"Yeah but your boyfriend over there seems to have neither brains nor brawn," Rosen chuckled, pointing to Ryou who had come running back.

"Ryou you idiot! I told you to run away!" Ryuji shouted.

"But I wanted to help," said Ryou.

"You'll just be a hindrance! Get out!" Ryuji said.

Too late. Guil grabbed Ryou and held him hostage.

Rosen and Ryuji stared each other down. "If you don't want your idiot boyfriend to get hurt, you should come quietly with us," Rosen said.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ryuji saw Janin approaching Guil from behind with her longboard raised over her shoulder. Ryuji raised his hands in the air, feigning surrender.

All at once, Janin swung her longboard at Guil's head, making him howl in pain. This distracted Rosen long enough for Ryuji to knock his feet out from under him. Meanwhile, Guil let go of Ryou and threw himself at Janin, grabbing onto her legs and causing her to trip and fall. After a brief moment of struggling, Janin fought the bully off and managed to slip away, but she lost her left shoe in the process and now everyone could see that one of her legs was prosthetic.

Guil started to go after Janin, but then Rosen said, "Leave her. It's the queens we want."

Ryuji grabbed onto Ryou's hand and pulled him along. Both of the bullies started chasing after them. At this very moment, the Millennium Ring emitted a blinding white light, and everyone within a twenty-foot radius dropped unconscious to the ground, including Ryuji and the two bullies.

Janin, on the other hand, had been standing far enough away to escape the power of the light. She watched in horror as Bakura grabbed the nearest fallen bully by the scruff of the shirt and raised his fist to beat up the unconscious body.

"Stop!" Janin shouted.

Bakura turned and glowered at Janin with cruel, empty eyes.

Janin shuddered. "You're not Ryou, are you?" she said.

Bakura dropped the bully's body to the ground and kicked it to the side.

"You're…that guy," Janin continued. " _You're_  the reason I fell into a coma. None of the others remember you, but I do! I've had dreams about you."

"Che," was all Bakura had to say. He couldn't understand why mortals had a tendency to talk so much more than necessary. The following conversation was going really boring for him.

"Whoever you are, get lost! Leave Ryou alone!" Janin commanded.

Bakura crossed his arms and smiled in a way that was almost charming. "Oh please. You don't know anything about my relationship with my host. Ryou  _wants_  to have me around."

"Seriously?" Janin said with disbelief.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Yes, seriously. We made an agreement with each other. Ryou lets me live in his body since I don't have one of my own, and in exchange, I stay on my best behavior and help him out whenever he needs it."

Janin crinkled her nose in distaste. Bakura's words were innocuous for the most part, but the way he talked sort of gave off a creepy vibe. "So, what, is Ryou basically like your keeper or something?"

"I prefer the term 'landlord.'"

Janin deadpanned. "You're a piece of work."

"Thanks for the compliment," Bakura teased with a delightful smirk.

"How do I know you're not lying though? You could taking Ryou by force for all I know," Janin said suspiciously.

Suddenly, Ryuji groaned. The Millennium Ring's magic was wearing off on him and he was going to wake up any second.

"If you won't take  _my_  word for it, why don't you ask him yourself?" Bakura said. And then he returned to the Ring.

Ryou pressed his fingers against his forehead and squeezed his eyes shut with a groan. Whenever the Spirit shoved him back into control of his body, it was like being jolted awake from a deep sleep. It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

Ryuji sat up and rubbed his eyes confusedly. "What just happened?" he wondered aloud.

Ryou held out his hand and helped Ryuji to his feet. Meanwhile, Janin went to retrieve her fallen shoe.

"Hey Ryou," Janin said, slowly approaching the boys with her shoe clutched in her right hand. "Think fast!"

Janin threw her shoe at Ryou's forehead. It hit him dead center and left a footprint on his face.

"…ow," said Ryou.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ryuji demanded angrily.

Janin nodded to herself. Yep, this was the real Ryou. No one else would just stand there and allow himself to be hit so passively.

"Explain something to me," Janin said sternly. "Let's pretend I'm in a relationship with some guy who a control freak. Say if this guy did something terrible to all of my friends and ruined my reputation at school. Give me five solid reasons why I would want to keep him around."

"Oh…right. There are plenty of reasons," Ryou said. Janin's phrasing was vague, but he understood what she meant.

Janin shifted her weight onto her artificial leg and tapped her real foot impatiently.

"Say if he's changed. Say if he's already done multiple things to prove to you that he's a better person than before," Ryou said.

"How many times has he proven himself?" Janin questioned.

Ryou started counting them in his head. The first time was during Duelist Kingdom when the Spirit had helped everyone get past the Meikyu brothers. The second time was when he had saved Honda and Mokuba from Pegasus's dungeon. And there were many times after that: more than Ryou could recall at the moment.

"More than five," Ryou answered.

Janin was silent for a few seconds as she contemplated what to do. "I wish I could trust your judgment Ryou, but you have a tendency to give people more second chances than they deserve."

"How would you know if you never tried? Maybe he just needs someone to support him because no one had ever given him a chance before," Ryou said.

Janin sighed defeatedly. "Fine. Have it your way. It's not like I've ever been able to stop you once you've made your decision."

Ryuji had been trying to follow along with their conversation and failed miserably. "Are you having some kind of relationship problem with your boyfriend or something?" he directed the question at Janin.

"It's none of your concern," both Janin and Ryou said at the same time.

By now the sun was starting to set and they all decided it was time to go home. Mei Fen, who had overheard everything, came out from her hiding place behind a tree. The four friends said farewell to one another and promised to keep in touch.

Later on, a rumor would spread around Domino High that Ryou had single-handedly beat up two of the school's most notorious bullies, thereby enforcing his reputation as the creepy transfer student. But other than that, the events of the day didn't have much of an impact and Ryou mostly forgot about it in the long run.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Janin is pronounced JAYnin. Ja as in jaywalk, and nin as in ninja. The emphasis is on the first syllable. I wish I could've named her Janet, but I have to stay consistent with keeping the characters Japanese. If my fanfic were an anime, Janet would be her English dub name.


	11. Communication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently found out something about the movie that…changes things. I didn't actually watch the movie; I only saw screenshots and read the wikia article about it. If you want to avoid movie spoilers then skip these author's notes and go straight to the story.
> 
> DOSD spoilers in 3…2...1
> 
> Ryou is adopted! The stepfather he's living with right now isn't the same father who got him stuck with the Millennium Ring! And now I feel even more sorry for poor Ryou.
> 
> This raises some questions though, like, is Amane his stepsister or biological sister? And is "Bakura" an adoptive name or…? Why exactly does Ryou share a name with the Thief King anyways? Did one of Ryou's fathers deliberately choose to take on the name "Bakura" because of its association with the Millennium Ring? And if so, how would they have known? Does anyone have a good explanation for all of this?
> 
> By pure coincidence, this revelation actually supports my story because it would explain why Mr. Bakura treats Ryou more like a roommate than a son. And if you assume that Ryou changed his surname after he became adopted, then I didn't necessarily contradict canon by calling his stepdad "Mr. Bakura." Plus I was already writing with the anime design in mind, so yeah, it all checks out.

Ryou was having a bad case of artist's block. Like all typical artists, Ryou did what he usually did when he didn't know how to proceed on a project: he procrastinated.

For the last couple of days, Ryou had been doing everything _except_ work on the diorama of Egypt. He wrote stories, visited haunted places around Domino City, and even did his homework for a change. On the third day of his rampant cycle of procrastination, he ran out of things to do, so he just stayed in his room and started playing around with the Millennium Eye.

It wasn't the real Eye, of course. No, definitely not the real one. This one was just a fake that had been in Pegasus's soup. Ryou thought it looked cool, so he had brought it home as a souvenir from Duelist Kingdom.

Ryou tossed the Eye like a miniature basketball, aiming for an empty pencil holder that was on his desk. It hit the edge of the pencil holder and bounced away onto the floor. He picked up the Eye, backed away from his desk, and tried again. This time when he threw it, the Eye landed inside. "Score!" Ryou cheered triumphantly.

"Stop throwing it around! You're going to break it!" the Spirit called out from inside the Ring.

"It's _supposed_ to break apart, silly. Watch this." Ryou took the Eye out of the pencil holder and pulled on it with both hands, trying to break it in half, but for some reason it refused to pop open. "What? Why isn't it working?" Ryou said confusedly.

The Spirit watched on in horror as his host repeatedly slammed the Eye against the surface of the desk as if he were cracking an egg. "Wow, it's really stuck," Ryou said, cocking his head. With a shrug, he gave up trying to break it open and started to juggle it back and forth between his hands, but then he tossed it too high and it hit the ceiling with a loud, ear-splitting crack.

The Spirit decided he had had enough. He promptly took control of Ryou's right arm in order to catch the Eye while it was falling back down, and then he opened Ryou's desk drawer, put the Eye inside, and shut the drawer firmly. Only after that did he relinquish control of the arm.

Ryou scowled with annoyance. "Spirit, you don't have to be so protective of a mere replica. It's not that precious," he said, clenching and unclenching his right hand to test out his control of it.

The Spirit didn't say anything in response. Ryou decided he was bored of playing with the Eye anyway so he lay down on his bed and let anxiety wash over him. "Arrgg, I'm never going to finish the diorama in time!"

“If you’re so worried about it, then why don’t you hurry up and finish it?” the Spirit said.

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who has to work on it,” Ryou mumbled.

“Stop being lazy, Landlord.”

“Oh hush. I have tons of time left. I can afford to be lazy.”

“It might seem like you have a lot of time, but due to the sheer magnitude of the project, we can't afford to waste a single minute,” the Spirit growled.

Ryou tossed around to lie on his stomach and buried his face into his pillow. “Please don't talk like that. It makes me even more anxious.”

“I can’t just sit around and let you slack off on such an important project! The diorama has to be completed on time. I cannot allow you to fail.”

“Why are you so worried about it? It’s not _your_ father we’re trying to impress.”

Without warning, the door to Ryou's bedroom creaked open and Mr. Bakura poked his head inside. "Ryou? Who are you talking to?"

Ryou jolted up on his bed. "Dad! You're home early!" he cried nervously. Of all the days that his father had to come home early, this had to be the worst possible timing.

Mr. Bakura caught sight of the Millennium Ring hanging out in the open on his son's neck, and suddenly it all clicked. "Did the Spirit of the Millennium Ring finally reveal himself to you?"

Ryou's mouth dropped open with bewilderment. "You know about the Spirit?!"

Mr. Bakura nodded.

"But when did you f-find out?" Ryou sputtered in disbelief.

"I've known since the very beginning," Mr. Bakura explained calmly, pulling up Ryou's desk chair and sitting down in the middle of the bedroom.

"But how come you never told me?" Ryou said through gritted teeth.

Mr. Bakura shrugged. "I didn't want you to be scared. You were too young to understand at the time."

Ryou couldn't help but feel a bit angry. "But I'm all grown up now, aren't I?! How long were you going to keep me in the dark about this?"

"I just wanted you to grow up thinking your were normal. If you thought that there was something wrong with you, it might have made you not want to try."

"Try what?" questioned Ryou.

"Everything! School, friends, careers…I wanted you to try living a normal life without thinking you were different from other kids."

Ryou mulled the explanation over in his head, trying but failing to see his father's logic. "I don't completely understand your reasoning," he admitted.

Mr. Bakura brought out his cell phone and began checking his text messages. "Think it over. You'll understand with time," he said, losing interest in the conversation. He scowled in disappointment when he saw his phone's empty inbox. "Ms. Chono still hasn't replied to any of my messages."

"Are you still upset that she dumped you?" Ryou felt a little bit guilty.

"No, I'm just upset that she went back on her promise to help me get an interview with Mutou Yugi. I was really looking forward to it."

"You could just ask me to talk to Yugi for you."

"Thanks, but I doubt he'll want to talk to you. He doesn't even know you."

Ryou gaped at his father in astonishment. "Yes he does! Yugi's one of my closest friends at school!"

Mr. Bakura looked up from his phone and raised an eyebrow at Ryou. "He is?"

"You didn't know that?!"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you never asked!"

A greedy look of excitement appeared on Mr. Bakura's face. "In that case, you need to help me get an interview with him ASAP! There's so much I want to ask him!"

"Wait, Dad – "

"All this time, the solution was staring at me right in the face! I can't believe it."

"Dad! Please listen to me for just a second!" Ryou was raising his voice against his father, which was rare for him. He willed himself to calm down before continuing. "Before I can let you talk to Yugi, I need to know what you plan to do. Are you after the Millennium Puzzle by any chance?"

"You make it sound as if I'm planning to steal it. It's not like that. I'm just going to ask to borrow the Puzzle for a while. For research purposes."

Ryou's eyes hardened into a look of determination. "I can tell you right now that Yugi's not going to let you borrow it. His Puzzle is very important to him. He wouldn't part with it for even a minute."

"Oh. That's too bad." Mr. Bakura's glasses glinted dangerously for a moment.

"You're not actually going to try to steal it, are you?" Ryou said worriedly.

At first Mr. Bakura seemed to be considering it, but then he sighed and shook his head. "No, it's not worth it. I know firsthand what can happen if a person who hasn't been chosen by a Millennium Item tries to possess one." He stared at Ryou's Ring longingly for a couple of seconds. Then he got up and headed for the door. "I'm getting hungry. How about you?"

"I can cook something," Ryou offered.

"No that's okay. How about we order take-out instead?"

Ryou jumped up from his bed and joyfully followed his father out the door. "Good idea!"

When was the last time Ryou had a one-to-one meal with his father? A couple of years maybe. Take-out sounded really good right about now, and it was very easy to ignore the Spirit's complaints about it being unhealthy.

* * *

Just when Ryou thought he had seen everything there was to see about the Spirit's soulroom, something new would appear. New people would pop up out of nowhere, occupy spaces that had previously been empty, and go on with their lives as if they had been there the whole time. The soulroom itself seemed to have a mind of its own, as it only showed Ryou what it wanted him to see when the time was right.

The soulroom had also developed two brand new mechanics that were quite useful. One, it was now possible for Ryou to fly around instead of walking. That, combined with the ability to fade through walls, allowed him to explore almost every corner of Ancient Egypt imaginable.

And two, the entire room now worked like a videotape, meaning that Ryou could pause, rewind, and fast-forward to any point in time that he wanted. This was very useful for when he needed to sketch someone who would not stay still. The only limitation was that he only had access to a period of about five years. When he tried to command the room to move before or after those five years, everything would automatically freeze.

Within the walls of the Pharaoh's palace, there lived a young Prince who looked exactly like Yugi but with darker skin. This was very obviously Yami Yugi's past life.

Ryou spent hours upon hours at the palace watching the ten or eleven-year-old Prince run around and play games with a girl who looked oddly similar to the Dark Magician Girl. In Ryou's opinion, the little Prince was a very adorable child who resembled the regular Yugi more than Yami Yugi. Ryou was itching to tell both of the Yugi's about this, but that would involve telling them that he'd been wearing the Millennium Ring again. Perhaps someday he would be able to reveal everything to his friends, but not yet.

One day when Ryou visited the palace, the little Prince was in the courtyard by himself playing with a ball. Right when the Prince threw the ball into the air, Ryou shouted "Pause!" Immediately time itself was frozen, and the ball stayed floating midair.

"Fast forward five years," Ryou commanded, and time quickly moved forward to obey his wishes.

Ryou floated through the walls of the palace and found Prince sitting on the throne. Now at the age of fifteen or sixteen, the Prince resembled Yami Yugi a whole lot more than before. The former Pharaoh had died recently and it was time for him to take his father's place on the throne.

Some of the members of the Pharaoh's court looked strangely familiar, such as the advisor who looked like Yugi's grandpa, the priest who looked like Kaiba, the priestess who looked like Ishizu, and the other priest who looked like the Dark Magician. All of them bore Millennium Items, and it looked like they were about to have a ceremony or something. Ryou was never completely sure what they were doing because he couldn't understand what anyone was saying.

Everything paused again, this time without Ryou's prompting. For some reason the soulroom never showed anything past this point in time, and Ryou found it very frustrating.

Ryou decided that he was bored with the palace, so he floated through the front gates to go someplace else. As soon as he passed through, he floated into a man he'd never seen before. Thank goodness this wasn't real life or Ryou would have crashed straight into this person.

The man had white hair, a scared face, and a long flowing red robe. He was dragging a mummy through the sand on his way to the palace, frozen in place because the soulroom was still on pause. At first, Ryou was under the impression that this man was much, much older. But upon closer inspection, the man had an incredibly young face, possibly even younger than Ryou.

"Play!" Ryou said, but nothing happened. It was like he had reached the end credits of a videocassette.

"Rewind," Ryou said, and the man began to run backwards.

"Play!" Ryou said, and the man ran forward through the sand only to automatically freeze in the same place as before.

"Rewind!" Ryou said again just to mess around. "Play! Rewind! Play!" The man ran back and forth over and over again rapidly.

Ryou giggled to himself. Manipulating with time was loads of fun! But now he had to get to work. After summoning a notebook and pencil, he started to sketch the man in order to make another figurine.

* * *

The next day, Ryou rewinded the room two years and went to the marketplace to watch the townspeople go about their lives. Merchants showed off their wares and civilians bargained with the street vendors. Everything was relatively peaceful.

But all of a sudden, people started screaming, and everyone ran into their homes and barricaded their doors and windows. The streets became deserted and eerily quiet.

Then the sound of galloping horses rang out as a group of men on horseback came riding closer. Ryou momentarily forgot that he was invisible and looked around for a place to hide. Once he remembered, he slapped himself in the face for his own stupidity and floated several meters into the air so that he could watch from above.

The leader of the group of horseback men was none other than the white-haired, scar-faced man from yesterday, albeit two years younger. The ancients clearly regarded him as an adult, but if one were to measure his age by modern standards, this man would be considered barely a teenager.

The group dismounted from their horses and raided a nearby shop, stealing food and other merchandise. _They're a band of thieves_ , Ryou realized for the first time. Once they were finished they remounted their horses and disappeared into the desert, and the townspeople came out of their homes and resumed business as usual.

Ryou followed the thieves around for the next couple of days. Watching them was even more interesting than watching the Prince, and the leader of the thieves was definitely one of the most fascinating and complex individuals Ryou had ever met.

The man was ruthlessly skilled and always got what he wanted, but he never did things the easy way. Whenever he stole something, he always had to leave a trail or a sign of some sort to let everybody know that he was the one who had done the job. He also had a complicated moral code; he only stole from extremely wealthy upper-class or from individuals who had done abhorrent deeds. He usually spared innocents unless they got in his way.

 

One day, the leader separated himself from the rest of his group and walked far, far away by himself to visit the deserted, haunted-looking village. Ryou followed him into one of the half-burnt buildings where the thief pushed aside a sarcophagus to reveal a secret underground passage.

Ryou was surprised. He had been to this village multiple times and had already added everything to the diorama, but he never believed that this place served any greater purpose. Feeling curious, Ryou flew into the secret passage ahead of the Thief.

It was very dark inside the passage. The only source of light came from the entrance, but the thief was covering it up. Once he had completely blocked the entrance, the Thief began lighting the torches hanging on the walls, and soon the passage was consumed by firelight.

Without warning, physics started working normally and Ryou fell to the floor. He confusedly stood up and tried jumping into the air, but his body fell right back down as it would in the real world. _That's strange. Why can't I fly anymore?_

While Ryou was jumping up and down, the thief stalked closer under the cover of the shadows. It took Ryou a moment to notice that the Thief was there, and yet another few seconds to realize that the man was staring directly at him.

"Who are you and how did you get in here?" the Thief demanded in modern Japanese.

"You can see me?" Ryou stammered.

"Che. Do you think I'm blind? Of course I can see you." The Thief began to threateningly walk towards Ryou.

Ryou back away until his back hit the wall. "Wait! Pause! PAUSE! ACK–"

The Thief grabbed Ryou, spun him around, and slammed him against the wall while twisting the boy's arm behind his back.

"Spirit! Help!" Ryou cried out, but then he fell silent when the blade of a knife touched his neck.

"Answer the question or you die. Who are you and why are you here?" the Thief growled threateningly.

"My name is Bakura Ryou and I found this place by accident. I never meant to cause any trouble," Ryou said earnestly.

"Che, you really think I'll believe that?" The knife dug a little deeper into Ryou's neck, breaking a little bit of his skin.

"It's the truth. Please let me go." Ryou's voice was barely a whisper.

The Thief withdrew the knife but didn't let go of Ryou's arm. "We'll see if you really are who you say you are. Come with me."

The Thief pushed Ryou deeper into the passage against his will. Once they entered another room, he threw Ryou to the floor and slammed the door shut, locking it behind them. Ryou felt a weird sense of déjà vu; he was pretty sure he'd been in a similar situation before.

"I will give you three tests to prove yourself. Here's the first one," the Thief said, pulling on a lever on the wall. The room shuddered and the floor opened up, revealing a huge pit containing a gigantic mechanical obstacle course. Life-sized humanoid statues wheeled back and forth, swinging their swords. It reminded Ryou of one of those video games where the player has to sneak through a dungeon while avoiding being caught by NPCs. In one corner of the room, water started dripping into a cup.

"The rules are simple," said the Thief. "You must get to the other side of the chamber before the cup is completely filled with water. And try not to die."

Ryou stared at the obstacle course with a feeling of dread forming in his stomach. "What if I refuse?"

The Thief shrugged. "Then I'll kill you. Good luck."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure how to explain why Mr. Bakura didn't tell Ryou about the Spirit, so I decided to base it upon my real life experience. My own father knew that I had ADD since I was a kid, but he didn't tell me about it until after I grew up and figured it out by myself. His reasoning was that if he told me I had a mental disability, it would've lowered my self-esteem and I'd lose the motivation to try at school. I'm not entirely sure if he made the right decision not to tell me, but he had good intensions, plus he's not abusive or neglectful and I love him so
> 
> Basically what I'm trying to say is that Mr. Bakura treats possession as a mental disability. It's probably not at all what Takahashi had in mind, but it works for the purposes of my story.
> 
> As a side note, Ryou has A TON of the symptoms for ADD. He's emotionally underdeveloped (and by that I mean he acts younger than his age), has poor social skills, is highly creative, spaces out a lot, hyperfocuses on activities he enjoys, fluctuates from being extremely quiet to extremely hyperactive, processes information faster than average (when it comes to Duel Monsters), and has a tendency to blurt things out without thinking of the consequences, such as the time he began to tell Kaiba about Shizuka's eyes and Jounouchi was like "Shut up Ryou! Don't say any more!" (Duelist Volume 3 Chapter 28 Page 4).
> 
> People with ADD tend to be very quiet and "spacy" whereas people with ADHD tend to be very loud and "disruptive." That's why I'm saying Ryou has ADD and not ADHD, although both forms of the disorder share many of the same symptoms.
> 
> Also Ryou often gives off the impression of being incredibly ditzy, which is the same impression that I give off to other people because of my ADD. It's actually not really a bad thing because since everyone already thinks I'm weird, I enjoy acting even weirder in front of my friends just to mess with them. And it's hilarious because Ryou does the same thing to Jounouchi all the time! Though it's debatable if Ryou does it on purpose or not…I'm just gonna believe he does it on purpose because it's funnier lol
> 
> Just as a brief reminder, here are some examples:
> 
> Duelist Volume 13 Chapter 119 Page 4  
> Ryou: See? It's an occult-themed deck!  
> Jounouchi: Ugh…o-occult…!? I'm definitely not dueling you!  
> Ryou: Don't be so afraid!
> 
> Duelist Volume 16 Chapter 143 Page 4  
> Ryou: I really have no problems at all!  
> Jounouchi: No problems…isn't it bleeding?!  
> Ryou: (pokes his injured arm) No…no pain at all. Wanna touch it Jounouchi?  
> Jounouchi: (freaking out) Don't joke around! It's better to go to the hospital!
> 
> Ryou's under Malik's mind-control in the second example, but it still counts because although his memories and pain receptors are being manipulated, his personality still shines through.
> 
> These author's notes got way longer than expected. Sorry about that. See ya!


	12. Bakura

_Out in the desert, unending and vast,_  
_the voices are carried in breezes._  
_They whisper the secrets of future and past,  
_ _and time will slow down 'till it freezes._

" _Come closer," they beckon. "Come forth if you dare."_  
_They follow the will of the Ring lord._  
_But no matter how much you struggle to hear,  
__there's only so much looking inward._

As a general rule of thumb, whenever one presents a challenge to someone else, it has to be a task that one would be able to complete oneself. This was a criteria of being a noble thief…or at least that's how the Thief King reasoned to himself.

"I'll go first and wait for you in the next room," the Thief said to Ryou. An honorable thief always set examples for others, even if they were about to die. Plus, this would be a good opportunity to show off his skills.

The Thief threw himself into the pit and swiftly ran through the obstacle course, dodging the swords with ease and laughing the whole time. He seemed to be enjoying this immensely, and in almost no time at all, he had reached the other side. He glanced at Ryou with a cocky smile and said disappeared through a door that immediately shut itself after he went through.

Ryou placed his hand against the wall behind him to see if he would fade through. No such luck.  _How did I get myself into this mess?_  he thought.

"Che, the moment I leave you alone, you get into trouble," said a familiar voice.

"Spirit!" Ryou cried out joyously.

The Spirit of the Millennium Ring emerged through the walls of the passageway and floated down in front of Ryou with crossed arms. "What did I tell you about exploring my soulroom without my supervision?" he demanded angrily.

Ryou sniffed. "What did you expect me to do? You disappeared for the entire morning! What the heck have you been doing all this time?!"

The Spirit waved his hand dismissively. "Just personal things. Nothing you need to know about," he said, averting his eyes.

"Ugh, you're just like my father," Ryou murmured brokenly. "You never tell me anything,  _and_  you left me by myself for an extended period of time." He crossed his arms and turned away from the Spirit to stare down at the obstacle course instead.

The Spirit snorted. "You didn't exactly mind my absence. I could've come at any time if you had called for me sooner, but instead you waited until  _after_  you got into trouble."

Ryou froze. "You could've come at any time…?"

"Yes, I could've. But you didn't call for me," the Spirit said, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Oh…" Ryou felt guilty. "I guess it's all my fault then…"

"Yes it is. And on top of that, you ended up putting yourself in danger."

"Sorry…" Ryou felt guiltier than ever. "How did this happen anyway? None of the ancients are supposed to be able to see me, plus it doesn't make sense for them to know how to speak Japanese."

"This only happened because you triggered the Ring's security system by trespassing! This underground chamber is top secret and you  _never_  should've entered it." The Spirit glared at Ryou like a parent chastising a child.

Ryou rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Sorry about that. But to be fair, there's no way I could've known."

"That's why I didn't want you to go exploring without me. I'll have to keep closer tabs on you from now on," the Spirit said.

"Yeah…" Ryou finally turned back to face the Spirit. "How do I get out of here?" he asked.

"You have to complete the trials. The sooner you complete them, the sooner things will return to normal."

"In that case…" Ryou held out both his arms, and it almost looked as if he were asking for a hug. "Carry me," he said.

"What?"

"You can fly, so I want you to carry me across the pit," Ryou said.

"It won't work because I can't touch you right now. See?" The Spirit reached out his hand to meet one of Ryou's. At the moment that their fingertips should've collided, they faded through each other.

Ryou sighed in dismay. "It was worth a try," he mused, withdrawing his arms and turning around to face the obstacle course again. He would have to do this the old-fashioned way. "Please go fly over there," Ryou said as he pointed towards an area on the other side of the pit.

"Why?" the Spirit questioned.

"Humor me," Ryou said.

The Spirit was annoyed but decided to go along with it. Meanwhile, Ryou climbed down the ladder into the pit.

The first trial wasn't as hard as it looked at first glance. After all, he was used to playing these types of games on the computer. Ryou had been analyzing the statues' patterns of movement during his conversation with the Spirit, and by now he had figured out how to cross it.

Ryou made his way through the obstacle in a more deliberate and tentative manner than the Thief had done. Each step was chosen with care as he slowly made his way across. Somewhere along the way, he reached a safe area where the statues could never him as long as he didn't move, though he quickly realized that real life was different from the world of computers. When a statue began coming closer to him, his heart beat faster and he became frozen with fear. At the last possible second right before reaching him, the statue turned its course and went the other way, just as Ryou knew it would. Nevertheless, this was pretty scary.

Then Ryou looked up and saw the Spirit floating overhead, and his confidence returned. No matter what happened, he knew that the Spirit would never allow him to die.

Ryou continued to slowly make his way forward, and whenever he felt uncertain, he glanced up at the Spirit for reassurance. He was getting close now, almost there. The last several meters would be tricky because there were two statues that followed a complicated course of movement, and the only way to get past them was to sprint across at exactly the right moment. After one last glance up in the Spirit's direction, Ryou ran forward as fast as his legs could carry him, and he didn't rest until he made it all the way across and climbed up the ladder on the other side.

Ryou sat down at the edge of the pit near where the Spirit was floating and took a moment to catch his breath. "I bet…you thought…that I couldn't do it," Ryou said between deep breaths of air, smiling with an aura of smugness. Despite how scary it had been, he had fun.

At first the Spirit looked annoyed, but all of a sudden he smiled back with a touch of fondness. "Not bad, but your physical stamina still needs work."

"Oh hush," Ryou said laughing.

After regaining his breath, Ryou ventured into the next room with the Spirit floating along next to him, and the cup of water began to overflow right as the door shut itself behind them.

The Thief grinned to himself when he saw Ryou enter. It was never any fun when people failed at the first task, especially when the second one took so much time to prepare. In front of the Thief was a large block of stone with five brightly colored jars arranged in a row on top of it, and behind him was a trench that extended all the way from the left side of the room to the right.

"Here," the Thief said as he tossed something into the air towards Ryou, who fumbled as he tried to catch it. It bounced off Ryou's hands and landed on the floor, but he quickly picked it up to see what it was.

It was a gold coin. "Uh, thanks?" Ryou said, looking up questionably.

The Thief studied Ryou's reaction. There was no hint of greed, which meant he wasn't after money. So what was he after? Maybe he really  _had_  stumbled inside by accident, but either way it didn't matter.

The Thief ducked down behind the block of stone and flipped something. Immediately afterwards, the trench behind him erupted into an enormous wall of blue fire that reached halfway up to the ceiling. The flames were silent and somewhat beautiful, and Ryou couldn't help but feel fascinated.

"One of these jars contains a black powder that will temporarily dispel the flames," the Thief started explaining. "Your job is to pick the right one. Be careful though, because if you get it wrong," and he paused for dramatic effect, "it will result in an explosion of fire that will engulf the entire room."

At this, the Thief turned around and sprinkled a bit of black powder in the trench, causing a section of the fire wall to die down long enough for him to walk across. Then he went ahead into the third room, for he wasn't going to stick around in case the second room caught fire.

"That was rude. He didn't even give me any sort of hint," Ryou mused. He began taking the lids off the jars and peering into them one by one, but the powders inside of them all looked identical. He stuck his finger inside one of the jars to pick up some powder, brought his finger to his lips, and tasted it…then he hacked, coughed, and spit it all out because it tasted terrible.

The Spirit silently watched from the sidelines. He had already figured out where the correct jar was, but he wanted to see if Ryou would be able to find it on his own.

Ryou walked over towards the wall and began feeling around for a hidden door or secret compartment. He might as well get a bit of exploring done while he had the chance, as it didn't seem like he had a time limit for the second trial. He tried to reopen the door he had come out of earlier, but it wouldn't budge. Once he had felt every part of every wall he could reach, he went back to the block of stone and began circling around it.

And that's when he saw it; a small, nearly unnoticeable hole near the bottom of the rock, just large enough to be able to fit one's arm through. When he peered inside, he could see a hidden jar within arms reach. The only problem was that a thin blue flame was flickering on and off inside at a rapid pace, blocking access to the jar.

"What's taking so long? Just take it already," the Spirit said impatiently.

"I'll burn myself," Ryou said, deadpanning.

"Not if you get the timing right."

Ryou rolled his eyes. "If you're so confident, why don't you grab it for me?"

"I can't touch anything," the Spirit stated. It was really irritating how often he had to repeat himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ryou caught sight of a tiny crevice that looked strangely like a coin slot. Suddenly he understood why the Thief had tossed him the gold coin. After he inserted the coin into the slot, the flame inside the rock went out and he was able to reach in and pull out the jar. Then he stood up, took the black powder out of the jar, and sprinkled it onto a section of the fire wall, thus the flames temporarily receded so that he could make his way across. He walked the rest of the way across the room, the Spirit gliding close behind him, and right when Ryou was about to pull the lever that would open the door into the next room, he stopped, for something had been on his mind for a while.

Ryou turned around to face the Spirt and said, "He's you, isn't he."

The Spirit stared blankly.

"He's you in a past life," Ryou clarified.

"Why do you think that?" the Spirit said doubtfully.

"He sounds just like you. He says 'che' a lot, and he laughs in the same manner as you do. Also he manhandled me in the same way that you once did," Ryou twisted his own arm behind himself to demonstrate.

The Spirit narrowed his eyes, unimpressed. "Those are just character tics. They don't mean anything. It's probably nothing more than a coincidence."

"He's also a thief," Ryou added, and the Spirit's eyes sparked with interest. "Probably the best there is in the history of humankind. I've been following him around for the past couple of days and I've seen him steal all kinds of things, mostly stuff from the Pharaoh. He's highly skilled at it, and he never gets caught unless he deliberately wants to. If I remember correctly, you once told me you were a thief too."

A conceited smile appeared on the Spirit's face. "How good of a thief did you say he was?" He wanted to hear Ryou say it again.

"The best there could possibly be," Ryou said dully. He was aware that he was feeding the Spirit's overinflated ego, but one had to make sacrifices for the sake of persuasion.

"Hmm. I can see where you're coming from. You might be on to something." Despite not having seen any proof, the Spirit decided to believe Ryou's conjecture, mostly because he was flattered by the compliment.

"Don't you recognize yourself at all?" Ryou said. The Spirit's lack of memories was really starting to bother him.

"There's a difference between being told who you are and actually knowing. I'm not going to remember anything just by meeting my past self," the Spirit said.

"Then what's it going to take to get you to remember?"

The Spirit's expression turned solemn. "Once the Pharaoh unlocks the door to his memories, it's possible that my memories will also return."

A gleeful grin appeared on Ryou's face. "Oh! I see." He clasped his hands together excitedly. "That's certainly something to look forward to, isn't it?"

The Spirit nodded in genuine agreement.

Suddenly Ryou had an idea. "Wait but if he's your past self, then I can ask him questions about your life! We don't have to wait for the other Yugi to bring back your memories. We can find out right now!" He eagerly waited for the Spirit to grow excited.

However the Spirit's expression didn't change. "He's never going to tell you anything," he said gravely.

"Why not?" said Ryou.

"Because he's the Ring's pawn, and destiny won't allow it."

Ryou scowled, unsatisfied with that response. "It can't hurt to try. And besides, maybe he knows something about the Millennium Items that you don't."

At this, Ryou ventured into the third room with the Spirit right behind him, and once again the door shut by itself. The Spirit frowned to himself when he saw the room's state of affairs. All four corners were littered with piles of human skeletons, and the front of the room had a platform with a variety of weapons laid out neatly in a row, including spears, cudgels, maces, and daggers, and there was two of each kind. The Spirit could sense an ominous threat of danger looming ahead, but he didn't voice it.

The Thief was sitting on the edge of the platform, sharpening his knife with a rock. Once he saw Ryou, he stood up and walked over to him. "Are you ready for you final test?" he said.

"Just a moment," Ryou said with a formal bow of his head. "Before we begin, why don't we take some time to get to know each other? I don't believe we've had a proper introduction." He stuck out his hand and said, "It's very nice to meet you. My name is Bakura Ryou. And you are…?"

There was an awkward moment of silence as the Thief stared at Ryou without moving.

Ryou retracted his hand with a frown. It wasn't often that someone resisted the maximum strength of his polite mode. Was the idea of handshakes nonexistent in Ancient Egyptian culture? He would have to try a different approach. "I love how you decorated this place!" he said, smiling his bishounen smile, the one that made the fangirls melt. "The skeletons are a nice touch. Very spooky."

The Spirit covered his eyes in secondhand embarrassment. "I'm telling you, you're never going to get anything out of him. Give it up already."

But Ryou was persistent. "Say, I have an idea! How about we sit down and talk about your friends and family? I'd love to learn about them."

The Thief continued to stare incredulously for several more awkward moments. "What are you playing at?" he eventually spoke up.

"I'm just trying to make casual conversation," Ryou said cheerfully.

"Could you hurry up and be done?" the Thief snapped, for his patience was dwindling. In his point of view, Ryou was only making small talk as an attempt to wheedle his way out of having to complete the trials.

Ryou's mouth pressed into a thin line. This was getting nowhere, but he couldn't give up just yet. "Could you at least tell me about the Millennium Items?" he tried one last time.

Something stirred within the Thief's eyes, but he quickly hardened into an unreadable expression. "Never heard of them," he said guardedly.

"Oh but you must know  _something_!"Ryou exclaimed with growing excitement. This was the first time the Thief had given him any sort of favorable reaction. "Can you tell me how they were created? Or why they were created?"

"Why do you want to know?" the Thief suddenly asked.

The question caught Ryou off guard, for nobody had ever asked him that before. "Why?" he frowned. "Because… uh… because…" He furrowed his brow, struggling to find the words. "Because I think it's important?"

Nobody spoke for a while after that. Ryou rubbed his hands together and blew on them for warmth, as the chamber was a little chilly.

At last, the Thief broke the silence. "How about this. If you successfully complete my trials, I will answer any questions you have about the Millennium Items."

Ryou brightened for half a second, but his face quickly fell when he noticed the Catch 22. "But I can't wait until after the trials! You have to tell me right now!" he pleaded.

"Why?" said the Thief.

"Because… because…" Ryou's voice trailed off.

 _Because after the trials are over, you won't be able to see me anymore_ , he thought but couldn't say out loud.

"I told you it was pointless," the Spirit said.

The gears were turning inside the Thief's head. Originally the third trial was supposed to be a one-on-one fight to the death, but if this Bakura Ryou person knew about the Millennium Items, then perhaps it would be better to take him as a prisoner rather than killing him. Thus, the Thief invented a new task for the third trial on the spot, one that would be nigh impossible for Ryou to fail at.

"Here's the third test," the Thief announced. "All you have to do is answer a simple question, and even if you don't know the answer, you're allowed to guess as many times as you'd like."

Ryou sighed. "Okay, what's the question?" he said, finally giving up.

"What's my name?" the Thief said.

Ryou immediately turned towards the Spirit for an answer.

"Don't look at me. I have no idea what my own name is," the Spirit said.

Ryou groaned in frustration, but meanwhile the Spirit felt a wave of relief wash through him. He was sure that the third trial was going to be a lot more dangerous than this, but perhaps he had been mistaken.

Ryou shifted his feet, thinking deeply to himself.  _What's an Egyptian-sounding name?_  he pondered. He took a wild guess and said, "Namu."

The Thief broke into an amused smile and shook his head in the negative.

"Shadi?" Ryou tried a second time.

The Thief shook his head again.

"This isn't going to work. You're not going to get it right by guessing randomly," said the Spirit.

"Well do you have any better ideas?!" Ryou snapped at him.

"Who are you talking to?" the Thief said.

Ryou covered his mouth, realizing his mistake. "Just thinking aloud to myself," he made a quick excuse.

For the next hour or so, Ryou continued to guess every Egyptian-sounding name he could think of, including ones he made up on the spot. The Spirit joined in and offered hundreds of different names he had heard in the past three thousand years, but none of them turned out to be correct. The Spirit grew bored, but the Thief seemed to grow more and more amused after each of Ryou's attempts.

Eventually Ryou became totally exhausted so he sat on the floor and took a break. He let his mind wander and thought about how the Thief's personality compared to that of the Spirit's. They were almost exactly the same, but not quite. Ryou couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about the Thief that was a little more conscientious. A little more human.

Then Ryou thought about the Pharaoh-turned prince who seemed to resemble both of the Yugis at different points in time. Suddenly he made a connection and an idea formulated itself inside his head, but before he could express his suspicions, he had to make sure. Determinedly he got up from the floor and strode over to the Thief, stopping right in front of him and leaning forward in order to peer closely at the Thief's face. Ryou had to bend down a tad because the Thief was, in fact, slightly shorter.

"What are you looking at?" the Thief growled, and he shot Ryou a powerful death glare, one that had sparked fear in the hearts of hundreds of his victims.

But Ryou didn't care. He was already quite used to receiving those types of glares from the Spirit. Instead of being intimidated, Ryou leaned even  _closer_.

Never before had the Thief met anyone so fearless. This Bakura Ryou person had to be one of the bravest, most determined individuals in all of Egypt…or maybe he was just a hopeless idiot with no sense of self-preservation. But either way, the Thief was intrigued.

Ryou turned his head to briefly look at the Spirit, then turned to look at the Thief, then back at the Spirit, and back at the Thief again.

"What are you doing?" the Spirit deadpanned.

Ryou finally leaned away and asked, "Is your name Bakura by any chance?"

The Thief broke into a satisfied smile. "Took you long enough."

Suddenly the light left the Thief's eyes, and his memories of meeting Ryou were wiped clean. The Thief blinked a couple of times, trying to remember what he had just been doing and muttering something to himself in Ancient Egyptian.

"Pause!" the Spirit said, and the Thief froze in place like a statue. "That's better. This guy is really annoying."

"But he's you," Ryou said, a little confused.

"Doesn't mean I have to like him," the Spirit murmured in a voice low enough that Ryou wouldn't be able to hear it.

Ryou looked at the Thief, then looked at the Spirit, and then back at the Thief again.

"Why do you keep doing that?" the Spirit said irritatedly.

"I can't see much of a resemblance," Ryou said, scratching his head. "He's got white hair, but that's about it."

"Of course there's no resemblance. Why would he look like me if I look like you?"

"I'm not comparing him to you, I'm comparing him to me," Ryou said as he circled around the Thief to study him from every angle. "I'm trying to see if I could be his reincarnation."

"That doesn't make any sense. If I'm him, how can you be his reincarnation?" The Spirit asked more out of obligation than anything else.

Ryou stopped circling and said, "Maybe his soul got split in half? The Millennium Items have the power to do that."

All at once, Ryou and the Spirit turned to face each other and exchanged wary looks of resentment. If they were truly honest with themselves, they had both known deep down all along that they were two different versions of the same person, but having it confirmed was like a slap in the face. Now that they were standing next to living proof, each of them was forced to begrudgingly acknowledge the other as his other half.

"I'm still not going to refer to you as the 'Other Me,'" Ryou spat out stiffly.

"And I'm not going to refer to you as my "Partner,'" the Spirit returned the sentiment.

"Hmph," they both said, crossing their arms and turning away from each other in unison. In the silence that followed, they gradually made eye-contact again, and each of them was somewhat freaked out by their similarities.

"Get out of my underground chamber already. The trials are over," the Spirit said gruffly.

"You're kicking me out? Can't you let me explore for just a  _little_  while?" Ryou pleaded.

"Absolutely not. I told you, this place is off limits." The Spirit started floating towards the door and motioned for Ryou to follow.

Ryou hesitated. It was obvious that this underground chamber held a lot of hidden secrets just begging to be discovered, and if he were to leave now, he'd lose his opportunity to learn more about the Ring, and possibly the Spirit.

The Spirit let out a frustrated sigh. "For fuck's sake, can't you just do as I say for once and not ask questions?"

Ryou sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Why do you have to be like that?" he muttered in a small voice. "We've been through so much together. I don't understand why you still won't trust me."

Ryou gloomily took off into the air and floated ahead of the Spirit towards the chamber's exit. Based on the vibes he was sending off, it was clear that he was on his way to his own soulroom to mope for a while. He was too upset to work on the diorama for the next couple of hours.

But the Spirit couldn't let that happen. Time was slipping away. After catching up to Ryou, he placed a hand on his host's shoulder to get his attention.

Ryou looked up and blinked rapidly a few times at the Spirit.

"Tell you what. After the exhibition opens, I'll let you explore this chamber as much as you want," the Spirit said with a charismatic smile.

Ryou's expression brightened. "Really? You mean it?"

The Spirit nodded. "You can't right now because you have to complete the diorama, but once you're finished with it, you'll have all the time in the world to learn more about me."

“Thank you thank you thank you!” Ryou sprang forward and wrapped his arms around the Spirit, engulfing him into a tight hug. “You know, you’re one of the greatest friends I’ve ever had.”

The Spirit hugged Ryou back and said, “I feel the same way about you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of you are probably wondering, "Why did the Spirit disappear?" So I'll tell you.
> 
> Because he wanted to be mysterious!
> 
> …just kidding. The real reason is, he got lost inside the labyrinth while snooping around Atem's soulroom, and when Ryou cried out for help, the Spirit was able to follow the sound of Ryou's voice back to the Ring. When he got back, he didn't have a sense of how long he'd been gone because time flowed weirdly in the labyrinth. I thought about writing a scene about this in the beginning of this chapter, but in the end I left it out because it would make him seem more mysterious. Also, he hates the Pharaoh but doesn't know why.
> 
> Others might be wondering, "Does the Spirit remember Kul Elna?" My answer is no, not consciously. Unlike the Thief King, the Spirit isn't seeking revenge; the only reason he wants to summon Zorc is because it's the only way for him to escape the Ring.


	13. Misconceptions

Ryou took off the Ring and put it inside his schoolbag before heading off to school one morning. When he first entered his classroom, his friends greeted him just like they always did.

"Good morning," they all said, but it wasn't with the usual amount of cheerfulness. Things had been a bit tense for the past couple of days. The gang didn't seem to want to tell Ryou what was the matter, but it was pretty obvious what had happened; Yugi must've told everybody that the Ring had gone missing on the airship during the end of the Battle City tournament, and they all suspected that Ryou must have taken it. They were clearly not happy about it.

Ryou and Yugi had both been reluctant to confront each other about the Ring, but they couldn't put it off any longer. After gathering up all his courage, Ryou decided it was time to confess. "Yugi, there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"Bakura, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Yugi said almost at the exact same time.

They both paused for a second when they realized what they had said to each other, and then burst out laughing. After they had calmed down, they eyed each other apprehensively.

"So about the Ring…" Ryou began.

"You took it, didn't you," Yugi finished.

They stared at each other in an awkward moment of silence.

"Yeah…" Ryou opened his schoolbag and pulled out the Millennium Ring to show everybody. Anzu, Jounouchi, and Honda cringed upon seeing it.

"Ick! Why do you still carry that thing around?" Jounouchi said disgustedly.

"Because my father gave it to me. I can't bear to part with such an important gift," Ryou made up an excuse. "I'll give it back once we've collected all of the Items, but for now, do you think you can let me hold on to it?"

Yugi and the rest of the gang seemed hesitant at first, but they relented.

"I hope you're not planning on wearing it again," Honda admonished. "We don't want a repeat of what happened during Battle City."

"Don't worry, I won't wear it," Ryou lied. He felt bad about deceiving his friends, but this was the only way to convince them to let him keep it.

Everybody visibly relaxed. The tension was gone now, and the gang returned to their usual cheerfulness.

"That evil spirit is a real pain in the neck," Jounouchi grumbled. He couldn't help but get angry every time he thought about the Spirit possessing Ryou.

"What do you think was the real reason he wanted my God Card?" Yugi wondered.

Jounouchi's eyes hardened several levels of severity. "Isn't it obvious, Yug? He just wanted you dead! He was mad about losing to that Shadow Game from last year, and he tried to get revenge by helping Malik kill you."

"What a sore loser," Anzu spat, and the rest of the gang nodded in agreement.

 _No, you're wrong. He was only trying to help Yugi obtain the Millennium Rod,_ Ryou thought. It was painful for him to watch everybody misinterpret the Spirit's intensions so badly.

Jounouchi cracked his knuckles. "If that evil guy ever comes back, I'll smash him into a pulp!" He slammed his fist onto a desk for emphasis.

Ryou shuddered and fearfully took a step back.

Anzu whacked Jounouchi on the head and began to scold him. "Now look what you've done! You scared Bakura!"

"We can't beat up the evil spirit because he'd be possessing Ryou's body," Honda agreed.

"Oh yeah…sorry, I forgot," Jounouchi said sheepishly. "What I meant to say was, I'll send him to the Shadow Realm, just like what Malik did to his evil self."

Ryou's stomach clenched with dread.

Jounouchi grabbed a firm hold of both of Ryou's shoulders and stared him straight in the eyes. "Listen Bakura, if the evil spirit ever possesses you again, you can count on us to save you. Understand? In fact, I'll single-handedly blast him into the Shadow Realm so that he can never bother you again!"

"Uh…thanks…" Ryou mumbled. He was beginning to feel extremely uncomfortable.

Eventually the bell rang to signal the start of class, and all of the students scurried to their seats.

After getting settled at his desk, Ryou cradled the Millennium Ring protectively in his arms. His hands were shaking a little bit from nervousness. _"Isn't it sad?"_ he said into the mind-link. _"You worked so hard to save everyone's lives during the Battle City tournament, and instead of thanking you, they want to send you to the Shadow Realm!"_

" _I don't need them to thank me. I'm happy to be of service,"_ the Spirit said good-naturedly.

Ryou sighed. He deeply wished that his friends could see what a kind-hearted person the Spirit actually was. _"I'll have to keep the Ring in my bag for the rest of the day. If my friends see me wearing you, they might freak out and try to take you away from me."_ He opened up his schoolbag and placed the Ring inside. _"I promise I'll put you back on after we get home,"_ he said right before severing the connection.

For the rest of the class period, Ryou kept his schoolbag in his lap and hugged it tightly against his chest. He thought to himself, _Don't worry, Spirit. If my friends ever try to hurt you, I'll be sure to protect you. It's the least I can do after everything you've done for me._

* * *

Once school was finished, Ryou went to the museum and entered the hidden room to work on his diorama. It was still a far cry from being finished, but the pieces were starting to come together. With each passing day, it was beginning to resemble Ancient Egypt more and more.

The Spirit scrutinized the diorama appreciately through the eyes of his host. _"It's coming along quite nicely,"_ he noted.

" _I don't know…I think it could've been better. Do you think my father will actually like it?"_ Ryou said worriedly.

" _Of course he'll like it! Are you kidding? You're the finest craftsman the world has ever seen! He'd have to be a fool to not be able to notice your talent,"_ the Spirit said with upmost sincerity. He had learned from experience that the best way to make Ryou work faster was to feed him constant praise and encouragement.

" _Oh stop it. I'm not_ that _good,"_ Ryou said blushing.

And that was their general routine. The time that they spent together was actually the happiest that they both had been in a long, long time. Ryou was never lonely anymore, and the Spirit was no longer trapped in the Ring with nothing to do.

 _I hope we can stay like this forever_ was what Ryou was feeling. But meanwhile the Spirit was thinking, _It's too bad this has to end soon._

" _Isn't it ironic? All of my friends think that you were trying to kill Yugi, but in reality you were only trying to save him,"_ Ryou said into the mind-link.

"Ironic, yes," he Spirit agreed, as it was technically the truth. He didn't want Yugi dead…at least, not yet. He needed the Pharaoh's vessel to stay alive until the Door of Darkness was opened.


	14. Betrayal

When Ryou went to check on the diorama one afternoon, there were a number of things in the room that hadn't been there before. A mummy hung suspended by chains behind one side of the diorama, and two statues of Egyptian gods stood on the other side. In addition, four coffins had been laid out on the floor.

"Where did all this stuff come from?" Ryou wondered out loud.

"The museum got a new shipment of artifacts yesterday and they needed a place to store it," the Spirit spoke from inside the Ring.

"Oh! I see." Ryou clasped his hands together. "Pretty soon we won't need this room anymore. Time really flies," he mused with an air of solemnity.

"You should know that I moved everything in here by myself," the Spirit bragged with upmost pride.

"All by yourself?" Ryou studied the new objects in the room again. "But that's impossible. These statues are huge! There's no way I would've been able to move them."

"Maybe because you're weak."

Ryou scowled. "Don't call me weak, Spirit. We share the same body. We literally have the exact same physical strength."

Ryou started climbing up the stairs towards the diorama. The table was placed on top of an enormous platform modeled after the Millennium Puzzle, and he always had to climb a bunch of stairs to reach it. He felt that the platform was highly unnecessary, especially since they would need to get rid of it once the table was moved to the exhibition, but the Spirit had insisted upon the platform's inclusion because, in his words, "A work of art like this has to be respected." Ryou didn't completely understand the Spirit's reasoning, but the Spirit had been so passionate about it that Ryou decided to go along with it.

Ryou sat down in one of the elaborate chairs and stretched his arms. "You know, I was wondering why my arms felt so sore this morning. Next time, please give me a heads up before you do these types of physical activity."

After taking out a notebook from his schoolbag, Ryou quickly went through a checklist he had made for himself. "Let's see …the palace has been repainted, the courtyard is set, the course of the river's been adjusted…I think we're basically finished." Ryou dropped the notebook into his lap and relaxed into the chair. "And right on schedule too! What a relief."

"You've done a good job. Very impressive work."

"Thank you!" Ryou beamed.

In another two days, the museum's exhibit on Ancient Egypt would finally open and Ryou could move on with his life. He finished the diorama early on purpose because tomorrow was the day that Yami Yugi would bring the God Cards to museum and open the door to his past. It was kind of funny how these two events were scheduled right next to each other, but it sure made life more interesting.

"You might be getting your memories back tomorrow! Isn't that amazing?" Ryou said to the Ring.

"Indeed," the Spirit agreed solemnly.

Suddenly the weight of what was happening hit hard. What was going to happen after the Spirit got his memories back? Would anything change between them? Or would everything stay the same?

Ryou turned sentimental. “Listen, Spir– I mean Bakura. I had a whole lot of fun building this diorama with you.”

“I had fun too.” the Spirit said, and it was the actual truth.

"Once you get your memories back, do you promise you'll try to connect more with me?"

"Yes, I promise," the Spirit lied.

* * *

The Memory World adventure came and ended. The Pharaoh's lost name was discovered, Zorc was defeated, and the main members of the Gang returned to the real world and got ready to go home. Honda hoisted Ryou's unconscious body onto his back and was planning on carrying him along, but there was just one problem.

"Where the fuck is the exit to this place?!" Jounouchi cried out in frustration.

There was no visible door anywhere in sight on all of the four walls surrounding them, and they couldn't find the room's exit no matter how hard they tried. Honda got tired of carrying Ryou, so he placed his friend's limp body gently on the floor and propped him up against the wall. By now, Honda, Anzu, and the two Yugis had given up on searching for the exit, but Jounouchi was still running around looking for it.

"GAAHHHH! We're never getting out of here!" Jounouchi lamented.

"Don't be so overdramatic. Let's just wait for Bakura to wake up and tell us," Anzu said.

"Can't he wake up any faster? I have to go to the bathroom!" Jounouchi said as he desperately continued to circle around the room. Suddenly he came up with an idea. "I've got it! A wet willie will wake him up." He started stalking towards Ryou while moistening his index finger with his own saliva.

"That's disgusting," Anzu said with a grimace.

"You're seriously gonna do it?" Honda said incredulously.

Anzu and Honda exchanged nervous glances with one another. Each other them was hoping that the other would make a move to stop Jounouchi, but neither of them did, and the Yugis were too busy chatting through their mind-link to notice what was going on.

Crackling like a maniac, Jounouchi inserted his moist finger into Ryou's ear and wiggled it around. It took a couple of seconds, but Ryou finally stirred and opened his eyes. As soon as he realized what was happening, he shoved Jounouchi away and bolted up from the floor.

"Ew! Ew! Ew! Gross! Gross! Gross!" Ryou shrieked, jumping up and down and flapping his arms.

"See, I told ya it'd wake him up!" Jounouchi grinned and triumphant thumbs-up in Honda and Anzu's direction.

Ryou began to repeatedly pound his fists into Jounouchi's chest. "You're so mean Jounouchi! Why did you do that?!"

"OW! OW! Cut it out Ryou, that hurts! Stop hitting me!" Jounouchi grabbed hold of both of Ryou's wrists to make him stop. "I just wanted to know where the door was!"

"The door?" Ryou echoed.

"We've searched everywhere and this room doesn't have a door! How the fuck do we get out of here?" Jounouchi said, letting go of Ryou's wrists.

Ryou looked around himself and realized where he was for the first time since he woke up. "Hmm…the door is…"

"Don't tell me you don't know either?" Jounouchi cried out in despair.

Ryou crossed his arms and turned up his nose. "I know where it is, but I'm not telling."

"Why not!?" Jounouchi demanded.

"Because I don't want to, that's why."

Jounouchi desperately grabbed ahold of the black trench coat that Ryou was wearing and gazed at him with imploring eyes. "Please Ryou, this is an emergency! I really need to pee!"

Ryou smiled down at Jounouchi innocently. "Well, okay. Since you asked so nicely." He pointed at the nearest wall and said, "Right there. There's a hidden door in the wall. All you have to do is push."

Jounouchi immediately went up to the wall and pushed against it with all his might. "It won't budge!" he grunted.

"Push harder! Sometimes it gets stuck," said Ryou.

Jounouchi slammed his shoulder into the wall, kicked it, and punched it a few times. But nothing happened.

"Oh my, it must be really stuck today. Back up a bit and try running into it with your head," Ryou said with an innocuous smile.

Jounouchi took a few steps backwards from the wall.

"Back up a little further," Ryou advised.

Jounouchi took a couple more steps back.

"A liiiiiiitle more," Ryou instructed, and Jounouchi kept backing up until he was halfway across the room. "Perfect! Now go!"

Jounouchi charged forward like a bull, yelling a battle cry, and rammed himself headfirst into the wall.

CRASH!

"ARRGGGGG!" Jounouchi cried out in pain and knelt to the floor while clutching his head in agony.

Ryou doubled over in a fit of giggles. "Oh man! I can't believe you fell for it!"

"Ryou you little – " Jounouchi cursed. "That's it." He got up from the floor and began charging at Ryou.

"Eep!" Ryou tried to flee, but Jounouchi quickly caught up and tackled him.

"Tell me where the door is, Ryou!" Jounouchi held Ryou in a headlock and nogied him on the head.

Ryou shook with uncontrollable laughter as he struggled in vain to get away. "Alright, alright! I'll tell you! Jounouchi let go, stop it already! I'm sorry!"

Once they were done roughousing, Ryou showed his friends where the door was actually hidden. "The wall over here rotates," he explained as he pushed firmly against the wall in a different part of the room. The section of the wall turned around, one of the Museum's stone slabs on the other side.

Jounouchi immediately rushed out to find a bathroom, and everybody else lounged about casually next to the doorway as they waited for him to come back.

"How did you guys get in here if you didn't know where the door was?" Ryou wondered.

"Our bodies were carried in here while we were running around inside Atem's soul," said Honda.

"Atem?" Ryou said, raising an eyebrow.

"That's the other Yugi's real name," Honda explained.

Ryou looked over to where Yami Yugi was standing. By now, Atem was already absorbed in another mental conversation with Yugi and was too distracted to notice that the others were talking about him.

"Wow! You guys found out his real name? Congrats! Does this mean he has all of his memories back?" said Ryou excitedly.

"Yep," Honda and Anzu both beamed with pride.

"Did you find out about the Millennium Items' origins too?" Ryou pressed on hopefully.

The question caught both of his friends off guard. "Origins?" Honda repeated with a frown.

"Who created the Millennium Items? How were they created, and why?" Ryou said, barely resisting the urge to jump up and down in his eagerness.

Anzu and Honda glanced at each other warily. "We never found out. Everything happened so quickly," Anzu admitted after a tense pause.

"Oh…" Ryou slumped his shoulders and breathed out a sigh of major disappointment. He was having a miserable day. First he had to go through school while running on very little sleep because of what had happened with the God Cards the night before, then he wasn't allowed to go into the Memory World, and now his friends were telling him that they failed to find out the Millennium Items' origins. In addition to that, Ryou had failed to be of any help in getting the Spirit's memories back. How could this day possibly get any worse?

_Spirit…!_

All of a sudden Ryou realized something. "Hold on a second," he said, patting at his chest. "I'll be right back," he told his friends, and he took off running towards the diorama in the middle of the room.

"Where are you going?" said Anzu.

Ryou dashed up the staircase. In order to get a good view of the room, it would be best to be on higher ground. "My Millennium Ring's missing again. I have to–" When he got to the top, he froze in shock when he saw the state of the diorama. The city and temples were reduced to rubble, the earth was jagged, and the whole thing looked like a miniature earthquake had run through it. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DIORAMA?!" he freaked.

Anzu and Honda broke into a run towards Ryou. Even Atem stopped what he was doing and turned to follow.

"No no no no no no! How could this happen? All my hard work's practically gone to waste!" Ryou was panicking.

Anzu and Atem stood on ground level next to the diorama and watched Ryou at a distance. Honda, on the other hand, climbed up the stairs and approached Ryou from behind.

"Calm down Bakura," Honda tried to comfort him.

Ryou shook his head and buried his face in his hands. "I can't. The exhibition opens tomorrow. What am I going to tell my father?"

At that moment, Jounouchi returned from his trip to the bathroom. "You guys are still in here? Let's go home already."

"I'm not leaving without my Millennium Ring!" Ryou shouted. Even though he was in distress about the diorama, he would never leave the Spirit behind.

Jounouchi's expression turned deadly serious. "Not this again," he murmured as he made his way towards the area where everyone else was standing.

"You guys have to help me look for it," Ryou said, crouching down and scanning the area underneath the diorama table.

"It's not there," Honda said.

"How can you be so sure?" said Ryou, straightening up and turning to face Honda.

"Because…" Honda's voice trailed off. He tried to keep a straight face, he really tried, but he couldn't resist the urge to glance over in Atem's direction. It was a very brief glance and he hoped that Ryou wouldn't notice.

But Ryou did notice. By following Honda's line of vision, Ryou saw Atem and immediately understood. "Atem. May I have my Ring back?"

"I don't have it," said Atem.

Ryou was silent for a moment of contemplation. He wanted to believe Atem's words – he sincerely wanted to – but this exact same scenario had happened before at the end of the Battle City tournament. "You're lying. You do have it." Ryou darted past Honda and began making his way down the stairs. "Look, I know you only want to protect me, but I can take care of myself." After reaching ground level, Ryou started walking towards Atem with his hand held out for the Ring.

"For fuck's sake!" Jounouchi cut in front of Ryou and blocked him from going any further. "Listen Ryou, forget about the Millennium Ring. It's too dangerous for you to have it."

Ryou cast Jounouchi a tired look. "I've told you a million times that the Millennium Ring isn't dangerous. As long as I'm not wearing it, it's just a piece of jewelry." He had given his friends this excuse so often that it repeating it had become a habit.

"But you _have_ been wearing it," Jounouchi stated accusingly. "The Spirit of the Ring took control of you again."

"Ah…whoops." Ryou rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. At long last, his secret had been discovered. "He didn't do anything bad, did he?"

Jounouchi was speechless.

"He almost brought about the destruction of the entire world," Honda stated, having followed Ryou down the stairs.

Ryou chuckled. "Oh please, you've got to be exaggerating."

"It's not an exaggeration!" Honda exclaimed in frustration. Ryou was such an airhead sometimes that trying to explain things to him was like talking to a brick wall.

Ryou eyed Honda with a look of concern. "What on Earth did he _do_?!"

"Do you remember way back when he sealed our souls into figurines and made us play a shadow RPG with him? The exact same thing happened again, except this time we were in Ancient Egypt," said Anzu.

"And we weren't put into figurines this time," Honda added needlessly.

"Also, Zorc was real. The Spirit almost summoned a literal demon that would've terrorized the Earth if we hadn't stopped him," Jounouchi said, finally finding his voice.

Ryou stopped for a moment to process all this information. It was a lot to take in, but something didn't quite add up. "Where did he get an RPG table for the shadow game?" he wondered.

"It's right there," Anzu said, pointing at the diorama.

Ryou gasped. "Oh my God! So _that's_ how it got destroyed! How could he do this to me?"

"Did you build that thing?" Jounouchi stammered, finally putting two and two together.

"Yes! I've been working on it for months," Ryou fumed. As soon as he got the Ring back, he was going to give the Spirit a piece of his mind.

"But why? Why would you build such an awful thing?" Jounouchi said beseechingly. Had Ryou been collaborating with the Spirit? He didn't want to believe it, but he couldn't shake off the possibility.

Ryou suddenly felt pang of overwhelming guilt. By agreeing to build the diorama, he was now partially responsible for almost bringing about the world's demise, not to mention all of the trouble it had caused his friends. It didn't matter if he had been tricked into it; the fact stood that he had built that diorama out of his own free will.

"Obviously the Spirit forced him to do it. Isn't that right, Bakura?" Anzu stated with confidence.

For a moment Ryou was tempted to say yes. It would be so easy to lie, to blame the Spirit for everything, to claim that he himself was not at fault for putting his friends (and the rest of the world) in danger. But he had already lied to his friends for so long about not wearing the Millennium Ring, and he couldn't bear to lie anymore.

"No. I wasn't forced." Ryou lowered his head guiltily.

And then his friends' faces took on various expressions of incredulity. For Honda it was a mixture of confusion and disbelief. For Anzu it was surprise and betrayal. For Jounouchi it was absolute bewilderment because he hadn't actually expected his suspicions to be confirmed. One of Ryou's deepest, darkest fears had come true; his friends didn't trust him anymore.

Only Yugi seemed to understand what had really happened. After switching places with Atem, he walked over and tugged on one of the sleeves of Ryou's black coat, and Ryou looked down into Yugi's comforting, nonjudgmental eyes.

"It's okay, Bakura. Tell us the real reason you built it," Yugi said in the most reassuring voice that he could manage.

Everybody crowded around Ryou as they waited for him to start explaining. Ryou hated being put on the spot, but he supposed he deserved it after everything he'd done.

"I just wanted to please my father," he said meekly. "There's a new exhibition of Ancient Egypt opening up tomorrow, and my diorama was supposed to be part of the display. I had no idea that the Spirit would use it for a shadow game."

Honda, Anzu, and Jounouchi visibly relaxed and breathed out sighs of relief. Yes of course, they thought. Ryou would never willingly betray them. I knew it all along, thought Jounouchi.

"Other Me says that you built it under the Spirit's supervision," said Yugi.

Ryou nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, it was the Spirit's idea in the first place. I still can't believe he would betray me like this."

"He planned it all along." Yugi had had misgivings about telling Ryou this part, but Ryou needed to know.

"No way…" Ryou couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. If all this was true, it really put the past three months into a completely different perspective.

"Are you okay Bakura?" Anzu said worriedly.

Ryou squeezed his eyes shut, trying to fight back tears. Then at last, he got his voice to work again. "C-Could I…could I have the Ring back now?"

"Why do you still want the Ring after everything he's done to you?" Jounouchi said.

Ryou sniffled. "I'm not going to wear it anymore, but I still want to talk to him. I need to ask him what his reasons were. So please Yugi, please can I have it back?"

Yugi hesitated, biting his lip. "He's not in the Ring anymore," he said after a pause.

"What are you talking about?" said Ryou.

"He's dead!" Honda interjected.

"Yeah, I know. He _is_ a spirit," Ryou said, uncomprehending.

Honda facepalmed. "I meant dead as in gone! Gone forever!" He exasperatingly struggled to figure out a way to explain it. "His soul was fused with Zorc, okay? When we killed Zorc, we killed him too! Who knows where that guy is now."

Ryou's eyes widened with realization. "It can't be…!"

"Isn't it great? We finally got rid of him for good!" Jounouchi said. He felt guilty about doubting Ryou and wanted to lighten the mood, so he pumped his fist into the air and initiated a cheer. "Hip hip…"

"HORRAY!" Yugi, Honda, and Anzu joined in on the cheering with exuberant delight. Everyone (except Ryou) started patting each other on the backs, praising one another for a job well done and happily celebrating the Spirit's death.

Honda put an arm around Ryou's shoulders and said, "Congratulations Bakura! You're finally free from his control!"

"Yeah, congrats!" Jounouchi said, punching Ryou in the chest in an affectionate manner.

Ryou managed a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Now let's hurry up and go home already. Or better yet, let's head off to Burger World. I'm starving," Jounouchi announced.

"I don't know…" Anzu said, pursing her lips.

"Look," Jounouchi reasoned, "I know you don't want your old boss to recognize you, but we just saved the entire fucking world! We should go celebrate."

After a moment of hesitation, Anzu broke into a smile of acceptance. "Alright, just this once," she said.

"YAY!" Everyone cheered again and started heading towards the exit in a flurry of excitement. Everyone except Ryou that is.

Having noticed that Ryou was lingering behind, Honda looked back at him and said, "You coming?"

The rest of the gang also turned back to look at Ryou.

"I'm going to stay here and look over my diorama. I want to see if I can salvage anything from the wreck," said Ryou.

"You want any help?" said Anzu.

Ryou shook his head. "No, it's fine. You guys have fun."

The main members of the gain looked at each other, contemplating.

"Okay, suit yourself," Jounouchi said, and they all began to leave the room.

Yugi was the last to leave. He lingered in the doorway and gave Ryou a look of concern. "Hey Bakura, if there's anything troubling you, you know you can always tell us about it, right?"

Ryou smiled. "Of course!"

"Okay. See you at school tomorrow." Yugi left the room and closed the door behind him.

As soon as the door was shut, Ryou broke down sobbing.


	15. Conclusions

The next day, Ryou was extremely reluctant to go to the museum after school. He hadn't yet told his father about the diorama, but by now Mr. Bakura would have already seen it and was probably disappointed beyond measure.

After lots and lots of persuading, Ryou's friends somehow managed to convince him to go to the museum with them. When they arrived outside the entrance, a large amount of people was standing out on the front steps. There was a mix of regular citizens, newspaper reporters, and several important figures in the field of archeology. Even the three Ishtar siblings were there.

The Gang greeted the Ishtar siblings with high fives, brofists, and general open warmth. Ryou wanted to join in, but it was very difficult for him to put up an act of cheerfulness today, so instead he walked past everybody and went ahead inside. Honda noticed and followed him.

As luck would have it, Mr. Bakura caught sight of Ryou as soon as he entered the museum. "Hi Ryou! Come over here!" Mr. Bakura beckoned. At first, Ryou tried to pretend he didn't notice.

"Your father's calling you," Honda said.

"Fine," Ryou said with a groan of despair. He trudged over to his father put on the politest smile that he could manage.

"Glad you could make it. I wanted to show you something," Mr. Bakura said, leading Ryou down the hall. There was a crowd of people in front of the entrance to the new Egyptian exhibition, but they moved out of the way when they saw the museum owner and his son coming through.

A red ribbon blocked the doorway to the exhibition. Ryou leaned over to peek inside, and to his utter amazement, his diorama was in the very center of the exhibition.

"You're using it?!" Ryou said with astonishment.

"I'll admit that I was a bit surprised. I was expecting a model of Ancient Egypt at the height of its glory, but your diorama perfectly replicates how the ruins of Egypt looks like in modern day. I'm very impressed. How in the world did you accomplish such a thing?" Mr. Bakura said.

Ryou grinned sheepishly. "Maybe I'll tell you about it when we get home. It's kind of a long story."

It was almost time for Mr. Bakura to give a speech. Rows and rows of folded chairs had been laid out facing the entrance to the new exhibition, and a slide show was being projected on wall adjacent to the entrance. Soon, all of the visitors got settled down in their seats. Ryou and all of his friends, including the Ishtar siblings, sat in one of the middle rows next to each other.

Mr. Bakura picked up a microphone and started speaking. The speech was rather long, and Ryou zoned out during a large chunk of it. Mr. Bakura talked for fifteen minutes about the Ancient Egyptians, rambling on about what was known about their culture and daily lives. Everything his father said about Ancient Egypt, Ryou already knew.

Afterwards, there was a five-minute video about Mr. Bakura's archeological journeys in Egypt, which Ryou found to be the most interesting part of the presentation. Once that was done, Mr. Bakura began to formally thank all of the various people who contributed a lot of money or other types of donations.

"I'd also like to give a special thanks to Ms. Ishizu Ishtar for her extremely generous donations of some of the most valuable artifacts we have in the exhibition, including two stone tablets and the mummy of the Priest Akhenaden. You have been truly remarkable. I look forward to working with you again in the near future."

Ishizu stood up and the entire audience applauded for her. He brothers were especially enthusiastic, as they stood up and hollered with pride.

"And finally, I'd like to thank my son Ryou who worked tirelessly for months to complete one of the most spectacular works of art I've ever seen, a diorama of the ruins of Egypt. I really appreciate your hard work."

"Stand up, Bakura!" Yugi urged.

Ryou stood shyly, and his friends cheered so loudly for him that it was actually embarrassing. He was about to sit back down, but then his father beckoned him over with a wave of his hand.  _Come here,_  Mr. Bakura mouthed silently.

Obediently, Ryou carefully made his way up to the exhibition's entrance. Once he got there, Mr. Bakura handed him a pair of scissors and said, "Would you like to do the honors, my boy?"

Ryou proudly accepted the scissors and cut the red ribbon blocking the entrance. The audience broke into a standing ovation, cameras flashed, and the next day there would be a photo in the Domino newspaper headlines featuring Ryou and his father side-by-side.

"That's it for the presentation!" Mr. Bakura said. "Thank you one and all for coming. Feel free to explore the exhibition, and there are refreshments over there on the table."

Everyone rushed into the exhibition room in a flurry of excitement. For about an hour or so, Ryou explored the exhibition with his friends, examining in the fascinating new artifacts on display and making fun of Jounouchi for being afraid of the mummies. Then Ryou got thirsty so he went to get a drink from the refreshment table.

As Ryou was pouring some apple juice into a paper cup, he happened to overhear his father talking to Ishizu nearby.

"I'm leading another excavation of some new ruins that were found in Egypt pretty soon. I was wondering if you'd like to come. We might find even more artifacts to add to your museum," Ishizu was saying.

"What day does it start?" Mr. Bakura asked, sipping his own drink.

"A week from today. I can arrange for a plane to pick you up on Thursday. We'll meet in the usual spot," said Ishizu.

"Wonderful! How long do you think the excavation is going to last?"

"About two years, give or take."

Ryou looked down at the floor and sighed. What was the point of trying to get his father's attention anymore? Some people never change. The Spirit had taught him that.

Putting on a bright smile, Ryou threw away his cup and rejoined his friends in the exhibition.

* * *

Since Ryou was in a better mood the next morning, the main members of the Gang finally took the time to tell Ryou and Ryuji all of the details of what happened in the Memory World. Ryou was pretty bummed that he had missed out on such an epic adventure, but at the same time he still felt guilty for inadvertently helping the Spirit of the Ring prepare for the shadow game.

"I'm sorry for putting you guys in danger. I should have known better than build that diorama for him," Ryou said with his eyes lowered to the ground. He had already apologized dozens of times, but the guilt was eating at him in every corner of his being.

"It wasn't your fault," said Yugi reassuringly. "The Spirit of the Ring is a master at manipulation. And to be honest, I also sort of trusted him for a while. He gave me the Millennium Eye a few days ago and said it was his proof of loyalty. I guess we're both too gullible for our own good, huh Bakura?"

"Wait, really? Are you serious Yug?" Jounouchi said in astonishment.

Yugi averted his eyes and laughed nervously as Jounouchi began hammering him for an explanation. Meanwhile, Ryou was wondering how the heck the Spirit got his hands on the Millennium Eye?! But his thoughts were interrupted when his friends started asking him questions.

"What was it like living with the Spirit?" Ryuji asked him.

"Hmm? Oh!" It took him a moment, but Ryou finally understood what sort of answer his friend was looking for. "It's not what you'd be inclined to think. He stayed in the Ring most of the time."

"Has he been hurting you?" Anzu said. This was something that had been on everyone's minds for a while.

"No!" Ryou said right away, but then he stopped for a second to think about it. "Well, okay. Maybe he  _did_  once or twice. But – "

"Was he abusing you?!" Honda interrupted angrily.

Ryou waved his hands in the air and rapidly shook his head. "It wasn't like that! The Spirit was actually really, really nice to me."

There was an awkward moment of silence as everyone gave Ryou weird looks.

 _Did I say something wrong?_  thought Ryou.

All at once, the main members of the Gang huddled together and whispered the following to one another:

" _Do you guys think Bakura might have Stockholm syndrome?"_  said Anzu.

" _Yeah it sure looks like it. It's definitely Stockholm syndrome. I can't really blame him though,"_  said Honda.

" _Poor Bakura."_  said Anzu.

" _What's Stockholm syndrome?"_  said Jounouchi.

" _It's when the victim grows attached to his abuser or kidnapper! How do you not know this?"_  Honda said.

" _Ick!"_  Jounouchi recoiled in disapprobation and briefly glanced back in Ryou's direction.  _"We have to try to talk some sense into him."_

But Honda shook his head.  _"It's impossible,"_ he said pessimistically. _"Bakura doesn't_ have _any common sense. He's got his head all the way up in outer space, and he's not going to understand reason no matter what we say to him."_

"… _that's a bit harsh,"_  Anzu pointed out.

" _You know it's true."_  Honda stated it as an objective fact.

" _But what if it's not Stockholm Syndrome? What if Bakura's telling the truth, and the Spirit wasn't really abusing him?"_ Yugi spoke up.

" _Cut the bullcrap Yug. You know what the evil Bakura is like. There's no way Ryou's fine after all of this,"_  Jounouchi said.

"… _I guess you might be right,"_  Yugi said hesitantly. He wasn't completely convinced, so he decided to withhold judgment until seeing proof.  _"How about we go along with it? Let's not try to change Bakura's views. We should just let him believe whatever he wants to believe about the Spirit, even if we don't agree with it."_

" _You sure that's a good idea?"_  said Jounouchi.

Yugi nodded.  _"This way, it'll be easier for him to cope with everything that's happened."_

* * *

When Ryou came home from school, his father was sitting at the dining room table filling out paperwork. Not wanting to be a bother, Ryou was about to quietly head into his room and study, but then Mr. Bakura gestured for him to sit down.

"Come here Ryou, I wanted to talk to you," Mr. Bakura said.

Ryou seated himself at the table. After a pause, Mr. Bakura finally looked up from his paperwork. "I'm going on another trip to Egypt," he told Ryou.

"Have a safe flight," Ryou said smiling.

Mr. Bakura peered at Ryou curiously. "You're not upset or anything?"

Ryou shook his head. "No, it's fine. Your work is very important." This was an improvement from last time because Mr. Bakura actually remembered to give Ryou a heads up before leaving.

Mr. Bakura looked like he wanted to say something, but then he changed his mind.

"So tell me," Mr. Bakura said after a long pause, "how did you manage to make the diorama so accurate? It's been a long time since you've been to Egypt."

Ryou lowered his eyes to the table. He wanted to tell his father the truth, he really did, but there was a very good reason why he had been reluctant to do so.

"Before I tell you, I need you to promise me something," Ryou said, gazing at his father with a determined look.

Mr. Bakura raised an eyebrow, for it was rare for Ryou to be so serious. "And what might that be?" he asked.

"You can't go spilling all of the secrets about the Millennium Items to anyone who's willing to listen," Ryou said, finally confronting his father about it.

"Why not?" Mr. Bakura said confusedly.

Ryou rubbed a hand over his face. "Because the more people who know about them, the more people will go after them for power. You blabbered everything to Ms. Chono and she tried to steal my Ring."

"Did she really?"

"Yes! Why did you even agree to date her in the first place?" Ryou said with exasperation.

"I was hoping she'd be able to help me decipher the mysteries surrounding the Items," Mr. Bakura explained. "Didn't you notice how her face kept peeling off? It was very obvious that she'd been in contact with Millennium magic."

Ryou's expression softened a little. Somehow it brought him comfort to learn the real reason why his father had been dating his teacher.

"But don't you see?" Ryou said after a pause. "This is exactly why telling too many people about the Millennium Items is dangerous."

"I see no issues as long as we properly educate everyone," Mr. Bakura argued. "The Millennium Items should be common knowledge. They should be at the core of every school curriculum across the globe. And if we put strict laws in place surrounding the usage of the Items, it will dissuade people from trying to use them for personal gain. Telling the world about the Items will make things safer for everyone, not more dangerous."

Admittedly Ryou could see what his father was getting at, but it was flawed logic. "The Millennium Items are too powerful to be controlled by any law enforcement," he said with a shake of his head. "If somebody were to try to use one for personal gain, the only way to stop them would be to use another Item against them. And if all of the Items were to fall into the wrong hands, the entire world would be screwed."

"You misunderstood me," Mr Bakura said, leaning forward with a darkening expression. "The Millennium Items should enforce the laws, not the other way around. Imagine if we were to create a centralized government with the Millennium Item wielders at the top. This is your chance to become a world leader!"

It took a second for it to sink in, but Ryou's mouth dropped open agastedly as he came to understand the implications. "Is that what you want to do with the Items? World domination?!"

Mr. Bakura tsked. "When you put it like that, it just makes me sound evil."

"But it  _is_  evil!" Ryou insisted. He could forgive his father for most of his faults, but this had to be the last possible straw.

"It's not evil as long as we only let good people be in charge of the Items. People like you, Ryou," Mr. Bakura said with a touch of fondness. "Think about it for a moment. In the wrong hands, the Millennium Items can cause the world's destruction. But in the right hands, they're humanity's one chance at world peace!"

"Somebody already tried that," Ryou blurted out.

"What do you mean?" Mr. Bakura said.

Ryou cleared his throat. This was going to be an extraordinarily long explanation. "Three thousand years ago, the Egyptians had a governmental system exactly like the one you just described. The Pharaoh's court used the Millennium Items to control the populace, and although it did create a relatively peaceful society for a while, it was short-lived. The entire system crashed down after one of the priests became corrupted by the Eye's evil energy. Afterwards, the Egyptians buried the Items underground and vowed never to use them again."

Mr. Bakura was taken aback with astonishment. "How do you know all this?"

And so Ryou told his father everything. He talked about the Pharaoh Atem, the Thief King Bakura, the Spirit's soulroom, the Millennium Items' connection to Duel Monsters, and how history had replayed itself on the Memory World diorama until it resembled Egypt in modern times. Ryou talked and talked and talked until the sun went down and his mouth ran dry, and when he was done, his father could barely contain his excitement.

"You met the Spirit's past self?" Mr. Bakura said amazedly.

Ryou nodded.

"And you say his name was 'Bakura?'"

Ryou nodded again.

Mr. Bakura was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was more solemn. "You don't have the Ring anymore?"

Ryou sadly shut his eyes. "The Spirit is gone, so what's the point?"

"He never even had a chance to tell you about his past," Mr. Bakura muttered with a frown.

"And I never got to find out how the Millennium Items were created either," Ryou added with a despondent sigh.

In truth, Ryou was just as passionate about the Millennium Items as his father was. He had been hoping that the answers would be hidden inside the Spirit's soulroom or in the Memory World, but despite his best efforts, he was no closer to discovering the Millennium Items' origins as he was three months ago.

"May I see your sketches?" Mr. Bakura requested.

* * *

Yugi's eyes darted back and forth as he repeatedly glanced behind him towards the back of the classroom. He silently berated himself for looking back too often, but he couldn't help it. He was nervous. One of his hands was gripping the Millennium Puzzle for comfort, and his other hand was holding on to the Millennium Rod, which he kept hidden underneath the folds of his jacket.

Ryou was sitting in his usual spot in the back of the room with a lost, faraway look on his face, and he was completely oblivious to the fact that Yugi was making glances at him. It was last period, and school was going to end soon. Time was running out. This was Yugi's last chance to do what he had to do.

He had to use the Millennium Rod on Ryou.

It was with the best of intentions, Yugi thought to himself. Malik had said that Ryou wasn't suffering, but that was a long time ago. Who knows what the Spirit could've been doing or saying to him in the last couple of months? Yugi's imagination ran wild when he thought about the horrible things that could've happened behind the scenes. Had Ryou been forcibly locked inside his soulroom? Had the Spirit been preventing him from eating and sleeping? Or worse, had the Spirit been inflicting physical injuries on Ryou to scare him into submission or to punish him for his disobedience? Yugi was overridden with guilt. He should've taken the Ring away from Ryou a long, long time ago.

" _Partner…?"_

Yugi was jolted out of his revere when his other self called out from inside the Puzzle. Atem had sensed Yugi's negative feelings radiating through the mind-link and had gotten worried about him.

" _I'm okay!"_  Yugi said into the mind-link.  _"It's all good, I was just thinking too hard about something."_

Despite Yugi's best attempts at hiding his distress, his feelings continued to slip through the link.  _"Why don't you let me take over?"_ Atem suggested.  _"I'll be the one to use the Rod on Bakura."_

" _Are you sure?"_  said Yugi.

" _Yes. You can let me shoulder all the blame."_

Yugi hesitated at first, but he relinquished control. The switch was subtle and nobody in the classroom noticed.

It would be pointless to overthink, Yugi thought to himself as he materialized in transparent form next to Atem. Regardless of whether or not the Ring Spirit had really done all those terrible things to Ryou, the fact stood that manipulation was a form of abuse, capable of leaving a lasting emotional impact. The problem was that Ryou seldom showed his true feelings, and nobody could figure out how emotionally scarred he actually was. That was why they needed to take a peek inside Ryou's mind. They had to make sure their friend was going to be okay.  _This is justified_ , Yugi repeated to himself over and over.

And yet why did he feel so guilty?

" _Are you ready?"_  Atem said.

" _Wait no, I've changed my mind!"_  Yugi blurted out, and he immediately covered his face in remorse.

Atem raised an eyebrow. He wasn't angry, but he  _was_  curious as to why Yugi would have a sudden change of heart.

" _Bakura's already been betrayed by someone he trusted,"_  Yugi explained.  _"And betrayal still hurts no matter what our intentions. If Bakura were to find out that we did this to him, he might…he might…"_

 _He might stop trusting us too,_  was the unspoken fear they both had been secretly worrying about.

" _We should just believe him when he says that the Spirit wasn't hurting him. He's our friend, and we should take his word for it, even if we don't have any solid proof,"_  Yugi said determinedly.

Atem couldn't look directly at Yugi because it would arouse suspicions from curious onlookers, but he could still flash a supportive smile.  _"You're right. Let's have faith in him."_

* * *

On the day that Mr. Bakura was supposed to go on the business trip to Egypt, Ryou was reluctant to go home after school, thus he went to visit the playground by himself. While he was sitting on a swing and idly kicking his feet around, Ryuji showed up.

"Hey Ryou," Ryuji said.

"Hi Ryuji, what are you doing here?"

 _I was looking all over for you,_  Ryuji thought. But what he said aloud was, "I just happened to pass by. Mind if I join you?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Ryuji sat on the swing next to Ryou, and for a while they swung themselves back and forth without speaking. Then Ryuji spoke up and broke the silence. "You know, I can't really hate the Spirit of the Ring the way the others do since I wasn't present at either of those shadow games, but from what I saw during Battle City, he was pretty crazy."

Ryou simply shrugged.

"You miss him, don't you," Ryuji guessed.

Ryou was frozen for a moment as he considered denying it, but then he sorrowfully nodded his head.

 _I knew it_ , Ryuji thought. He couldn't understand why the Main Gang found Ryou so difficult to read. In Ryuji's opinion, Ryou was an open book of expressions.

"I'm still really mad though," Ryou said with his eyes lowered to the ground. "I can't believe he led me on for so long. I was a fool for trusting him."

Ryuji wistfully looked up at the sky. "I don't know if this makes you feel any better, but I know from experience that you can't really control what other people do. Whether or not they betray you after you're kind to them is completely random and dependent on the person and situation."

"But Yugi's always making friends with his enemies. How come it works for him?"

"Yugi is just disproportionately lucky."

"So does this mean I'm cursed with bad luck?"

Ryuji cast Ryou a weary look. "I wouldn't say that. You converted Ms. Chono, didn't you?"

"Hm…that's a valid point."

But then Ryou did a double take. "Wait. Who told you it was me who converted her?"

A mischievous smirk appeared on Ryuji's face. "You did just now. I was only speculating. We were all supremely confused when she apologized to us for messing with our families, but I had a feeling  _you_  had something to do with it. Turns out I was right!" He flashed Ryou an appreciative smile.

Ryou blushed and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Ryuji chuckled behind his fist. "God, you're so cute! I think this is why our fangirls tend to like you more than me. I always have to work to get their attention, but you're popular with them without even trying!"

"It's not like I ever asked to be popular," Ryou said with an annoyed grimace.

"And that's exactly why they like you so much," Ryuji said teasingly. "When you keep them at a distance, they only grow more obsessed with you over time."

"Yeah, why are they like that? It's so irrational."

Ryuji shrugged. "I guess that's just human nature."

"Human nature is counter-productive and doesn't make any sense," Ryou grumbled mostly to himself. And now his thoughts were drifting back to the Spirit again. "You know, I think the worst thing about the Spirit is that he never truly cared about me. He acted like he did, but he was only pretending."

Ryuji's expression hardened. "Hey, forget about him already! Who needs him when you have  _us_? There's me, Yugi, Atem, and the entire rest of the gang."

Ryou smiled. "Yeah, that's true."

The two boys continued to chat and joke about random things for a while. The wind grew colder and the sun began to set, and eventually they decided to go home.

Ryou and Ryuji were walking down the sidewalk together getting ready to split paths, when suddenly the wind picked up. Unfortunately Ryou's schoolbag was partially open and several of his papers were blown away. Ryou frantically gathered the papers and tried to stuff them back into his bag, but the wind blew his hair into his eyes and he couldn't see.

"Ack! Hey Ryuji, can you get my hair out of the way? My hands are full," Ryou said.

Ryuji reached out and brushed back a large chunk of white hair, tucking it neatly behind Ryou's ear.

"Thanks," Ryou said without looking up.

In the spur of the moment, Ryuji leaned down and kissed Ryou lightly on the cheek. Then he immediately ran away sprinting down the sidewalk.

Ryou blinked at Ryuji's retreating figure and tenderly touched his face. The spot on his cheek where his friend had kissed him was still tingling like a feather against the skin.  _What does this mean?_  he wondered to himself.

* * *

Ryou was expecting to return home to a lonely, empty apartment, but to his surprise, Mr. Bakura was at the dining table pouring over a large stack of Ryou's sketches.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going on another business trip," Ryou said as soon as he came home.

"I turned down the offer," Mr. Bakura said casually.

Ryou was shocked. This had never happened before. "But why?" he said as he walked over to the table.

Mr. Bakura held up one of the sketches to the light to study it. "These are amazing," he muttered to himself. Then he put the sketch down again and turned his attention to Ryou. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"Why didn't you go to Egypt?" Ryou repeated.

Mr. Bakura adjusted his glasses and studied Ryou's face for a moment. He had adopted this boy in order to gain a Millennium Item, but what he had obtained instead was a son.

"I've been thinking," Mr. Bakura cleared his throat. "Both of us have made many attempts to figure out the mysteries of the Millennium Items on our own, and neither of us has had much success. But if we were to combine our efforts, we might have better luck at discovering their origins. So what do you say? Will you work with me?"

Ryou hesitated. If he said yes, he would be putting himself at the risk of being used for selfish gains, just as things had been with the Spirit. Could he really trust his father?

"I'd understand if you don't want to," Mr. Bakura continued, "but you should at least let me tell you more about your childhood. The Millennium Ring has made a large impact on your life and you deserve to know more details about it."

Ryou decided to throw all caution out the window. "I'll work with you," he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's was originally an epilogue where Ryou gets his father an interview with the Pharaoh Atem, and then Mr. Bakura publishes an article about the Pharaoh's life so that the world can finally learn about him. Also it's revealed that Ryou rebuilds the diorama because it's easier the second time around considering he still has all of the sketches and molds and stuff. But I don't feel like posting the epilogue anymore; it was poorly written and nothing but an info dump.
> 
> I feel as though there should be a sequel in which Ryou goes on an adventure to discover the truth about Kul Elna, and then he tells his father, and his father publishes something to tell the whole world so that the Thief King can finally, finally get a little bit of justice. The problem is, I don't know how to write it, and I most likely never will.
> 
> Thanks for reading. Goodbye!


	16. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey peoples. After I regained the motivation to write, I made a whole bunch of revisions in an attempt to improve my story. Here are the most notable changes:
> 
> 1\. The stupid and useless "Penalty Game" chapter has been deleted and replaced with a short thing about "Duelist Kingdom."
> 
> 2\. A proper story has been written for chapter 4.
> 
> 3\. I deleted that rant I wrote during my fit of frustration, moved "Betrayal" to chapter 14, and wrote a new thing for chapter 13. It just didn't sit right with me to have an entire chapter of nothing but author's notes sitting in the middle of my fic.
> 
> 4\. The name "Otogi" has been replaced with "Ryuji" throughout the entire thing. After rereading the manga, I noticed that the gang calls him Ryuji for some reason.
> 
> 5\. Ryou's lines have been edited/deleted throughout to make him slightly less OOC. Some of Bakura's lines have been edited too, especially at the ends of chapters 8 and 12. The whole point of his plan was to trick Ryou into believing they were friends so that he would continue to wear the Ring, and it wouldn't make sense for Bakura to deny being friends; in fact the opposite is more likely to happen.
> 
> Edit: I deleted my original chapter 8 and put in a new version – one that incorporated what I learned about sociopaths from reading a book.
> 
> 6\. I wrote a new epilogue. After rereading the manga, I realized that I had completely forgotten that the Thief King already told Atem how the Millennium Items were created. Therefore, a sequel isn't necessary; we can just assume that Atem told everybody about Kul Elna at some point. (I'm can't believe I forgot about that…haha…silly me.)
> 
> Also I changed some of Yugi's lines in the last chapter. He's not the type of person to conclusions, and it would be OOC for him to not want to believe what Ryou says about the Spirit.

One peaceful Saturday afternoon, the entire Gang went over to Yugi's house to hang out together. They all sat in a circle on the floor, and everyone listened intently as Atem related everything he had experienced during his time in the Memory World, as well as what he had learned about the Millennium Items from the Thief King and Mahado. Once he was done explaining, everyone reacted accordingly.

"The Millennium Items are like a double-edged sword," Ryuji mused.

"You're saying these things are made out of dead people!?" Jounouchi cried out in disgust. "Ugh, I'm never touching one of them again!"

"It's no wonder he turned out the way he did," Anzu said with a touch of sympathy. After learning about the Thief King's backstory, she couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for him, even if he had been a jerk.

Ryou's eyes began welling up with tears of joy. "So I wasn't wrong. He technically wasn't evil. He was just using the wrong methods to fight for justice."

Afterwards, everyone continued to chat with one another in mostly the same manner as always; they talked about games, tournaments, and the memories they had shared together as a group, the same as they always did. But no matter how much they wanted to deny it, something was different than usual.

In another couple of weeks, they were all going on a trip to Egypt, and it was possible that Atem was going to leave forever. They all tended to avoid talking about it because it would be too sad, but it hung in the air and dampened the mood.

Time was running out, and Ryou knew that this was most likely his last chance to ask the Yugis for a favor. While everyone else was distracted in their conversations with one another, he went up to Atem and shyly made the request: "Hey Yu– I mean Atem. I was wondering if you'd let me see the Millennium Ring one last time. Not to keep, but to hold for like a minute."

Atem took the Ring out of its hiding place and handed it to Ryou.

When Honda noticed what was happening, and he leaned towards Atem and whispered, _"Are you sure this is a good idea?"_

" _Have faith in your friend,"_ Atem whispered back.

Ryou closed his eyes and concentrated on feeling the energy within the Millennium Ring. The familiar force of dark energy was still there…but the Spirit wasn't present. No one was living inside the Ring anymore.

A soft smile appeared on Ryou's face. " _Goodbye,"_ he mouthed voicelessly. " _I forgive you and goodbye."_ When he opened up his eyes, tears were welling up behind them again. He finally understood why the Spirit had acted the way he did; it was because fate was cruel. After surviving a genocide and being imprisoned in the Ring for three millennia, it was no wonder he acted so villainously. Ryou hoped with all his heart that Bakura had found peace in the afterlife.

 _Maybe if you hadn't been possessed by Zorc, I would've been able to become real friends with you,_ he thought, but he would never know for sure.

"Thank you, Atem," Ryou said as he began to hand the Ring back.

"It's no problem." Atem took the Ring and put it in Yugi's bag.

And now Ryou needed to make a second request, as it was his last chance to do so. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you. Not Yugi, but _you_ specifically," he said to Atem. "You see, I've been telling my father everything I know about the Millennium Items. I hope that's alright?"

"As long as you trust your father with that information, then so do I," Atem said with a smile.

Ryou laughed. "You still trust my judgment? Even after I believed all those lies that the Spirit told me?"

"Yes," Atem nodded firmly.

"Okay, I wasn't expecting that. But thanks." Ryou ducked his head and grinned. "Anyways, there's a favor I'd like to ask from you, if it's not too much trouble."

* * *

A few days later, Atem took over Yugi's body after school was over and went over to Ryou's apartment, and they hung about casually in the dining room as they waited for Ryou's father to come home.

When Mr. Bakura did come home, he gasped in amazement when he caught sight of Atem.

"Surprise!" said Ryou. "You said you wanted an interview with Yugi, so here he is!"

"You must be Bakura's father. It's very nice to meet you," Atem said, shaking Mr. Bakura's hand.

Mr. Bakura was in such a state of wonder that he could barely speak. "T-t-the pleasure is all mine. You must be Mutou Yugi."

"Please, call me Atem."

"Yes yes that's right! Ryou told me about you." Mr. Bakura paced the floor, completely consumed with emotion. "Wow. I can't believe I'm talking to an actual Pharaoh. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"Would you like to know about my past?" Atem said.

"Absolutely! Let me get my laptop. I need to take notes."

Later on, Mr. Bakura would publish a scholarly article on Atem's life as well as the history of Kul Elna. The article didn't contain anything about shadow magic or the existence of supernatural beings, but it would become an important document in archeological history. And thus, the world was finally able to learn about the story of the nameless Pharaoh and the King of Thieves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End for real this time.  
> Bye again –


End file.
